Return of the Sage
by Lucy Heart of Fairy Tail
Summary: We're outcasts in their eyes, but that's not a bad thing. Even outcasts have potential to be the best. The Sage returns to change the world.
1. Prologue: Us Three!

Naruto, Gaara, and Hinata! What a trio! What a long chapter, phew

* * *

Hiruzen or known to others as the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure was on his way to Sunagakure to meet with their Kazekage, since they have an alliance but things weren't exactly nice between them though. He sighed as he stared at the gate and looked down at his charge, "Naruto, are you ready?"

Naruto Uzumaki is the holder of the Kyūbi Jinchūriki, the tailed beast that attacked Konoha all those years ago and still left some permanent scarring on the villagers that they took their anger out on the young boy every chance they got. Naruto had finally had enough and demanded the old man tell him everything, and he did. About the Nine-Tailed beast that was sealed in his stomach by his father the Yondaime, to why the villagers directed their hatred at him. Everything. Let's just say that Naruto didn't take it so well, which was to be expected. His attitude had done a complete 180, and he chose isolation from everyone in Konoha except from the girl Hinata Hyūga who always spoke to him. He had to admit he liked being around her even if she stuttered and got red a lot. Then there was Iruka and the people at Ichiraku.

He shrugged, "Yeah, I'm ready. So this is the sand village? I can see why it's called that."

Hiruzen laughed, "Indeed. Come." He walked towards the gate with the young boy following after him. The gate opened and Naruto saw the villagers walking around without a care in the world, but were weary of their arrival. Naruto ignored them and focused his eyes on something else, a young boy with red hair was sitting on the swing set in the playground all by himself. He also noticed that the villagers were giving him looks of fear completely opposite of what the people in his village give him, but he saw the look in the boy's eyes and could relate. His eyes showed loneliness. Just like his used to but he's since slowly stopped showing such a look even though it was there, but only a little bit.

Hiruzen noticed Naruto was looking at the boy and smiled, "Why don't you go over to him?"

Naruto gave him a side-glance, "Is it okay?"

He nodded, "I'll go and talk to the Kazekage, while you go and talk to the boy. He looks like he could use someone to talk to."

Naruto didn't need to be told twice cause he immediately walked over to the boy ignoring the looks he got from the villagers while Hiruzen walked ahead to the Kazekage's office, _'Good luck, my boy.'_

Naruto went over to the boy standing in front of him making the boy look up, "Yo." The blonde greeted.

The red head stared at him taken back by the fact someone would approach him let alone talk to him.

Naruto raised a brow, "Names Naruto Uzumaki, what's yours?"

The boy blinked slowly then replied, "Gaara…Sabaku…"

"Hmmm, interesting name." Naruto complimented.

"Th-Thank you…" Gaara thanked with a small blush on his face.

"What are you doing here by yourself?" the blonde asked.

Gaara looked down, "The people of the village are afraid of me and I don't know why."

Naruto could relate. He had a sneaky suspicion that he was like him, but didn't voice it out loud. He sat down on the swing next to him, "Since you've got no one to hang out with you then I will."

"R-Really?" Gaara was genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, besides your nice to be around." Naruto said honestly with a small smile.

Gaara for the very first time smile happily having gained his very first friend. The villagers were taken back when they saw him smile not believing it for themselves, that a monster like him was capable of smiling so happily.

Naruto saw the looks they were giving them and rolled his eyes, _'Idiots.'_

* * *

Meanwhile Hiruzen and the Kazekage were having a discussion about the alliance between them. They talked about it for a while before someone came in unannounced.

"Kazekage-sama!"

"What is it?" The Kazekage questioned.

"Th-The boy…he's smiling! There's a blonde boy with him and their smiling together!" the person wheezed out.

Hiruzen didn't need to be a genius to know that he was talking about the boy he and Naruto spotted earlier.

"Is that so? So it's capable of smiling is it?" the man raised a brow.

Hiruzen kept his anger well hidden when the man said that, "Do you know that boy?"

The Kazekage gave the man a look telling him to leave so they could talk in private. As soon as the man left he spoke, "That boy is my son and vessel of Shukaku, or known as the Ichibi. Basically he's a Jinchūriki."

"I see…" Hiruzen sadly, "That would explain the looks people were giving him when we walked through the village."

The Kazekage didn't really care, "I assume the boy he mentioned earlier belongs to you?"

"His names Naruto," He said, "He's a down to earth boy and has seen both the ugly and not so ugly side to this world at such a young age."

"So he's the same as Gaara then I take it?"

"He is, but he ignores the villagers hateful glares and continues life normally." Hiruzen informed.

"I see. Then he's your tool?"

"Naruto is not a tool. He is a human being with emotions just like any other person. And Gaara fits into that category as well." Hiruzen stated keeping calm despite his anger.

"Human? Jinchūriki aren't human, they're nothing but tools to be used for the sake of their village." The Kazekage stated.

"From your perspective maybe, but they are human beings. They laugh, cry, and hate. Naruto has shown no hatred towards the villagers because of the bonds he's made with a few who see him for who he is, not what he is," Hiruzen got up, "I better go and check on the boys, thank you for seeing me Kazekage." He walked out of the room.

The Kazekage stared at his back as he left the room, "Human…Gaara is not human, but a tool."

* * *

Naruto and Gaara were having a pretty good time considering the villagers were staring at them like they were a new form of species they've never seen before. The two boys were talking to each other happily ignoring their surroundings.

"So you use sand as a weapon, huh? Pretty cool." Naruto complimented.

Gaara looked down sadly, "But it sometimes hurt people. I don't do it on purpose, it just acts on it's own."

Naruto stared at him seeing he was truly hurt by it and came up with something and stood in front of him, "Then let's try this."

"Try what?"

"You said it acts on its own, right? Then try concentrating on controlling it by testing it out on me." Naruto said casually.

"Eh, but I can't! What if I hurt you?" Gaara panicked.

He shrugged, "So what if you do? People get hurt everyday it's nothing new, and besides I heal faster than the average person anyway."

"But…" Gaara looked sad.

Naruto smiled, "Relax, I know you can do it. Just relax."

Gaara still look unsure but Naruto's smile made him reconsider, "O-Okay…"

"All right, let's do this." Naruto said standing completely still.

Hiruzen was walking around the village and spotted the kids and approached but stopped when he saw sand appear below Gaara that slowly gathered until it went at Naruto. He was about to intervene but saw Naruto was standing completely still showing no signs of moving at all. The sand came at him fast but soon stopped and moved around him almost as though it was examining him before disintegrating back into the ground. He didn't know what to think with what he saw, was that planned?

Meanwhile Naruto smiled at his new friend, "See? You controlled it and I'm still in one piece."

Gaara couldn't believe it himself. He managed to control it and didn't end up hurting or killing his new friend, and an added bonus Naruto smiled and congratulated him. He felt tears sting his eyes and sniffled making the blonde rub the back of his head nervously.

"Don't cry," Naruto said nervously, "I told you I'm fine."

Gaara shook his head, "No, it's not that. Just…no one's done something so nice for me before," he wiped the tears from his eyes, "Thank you…Naruto."

"Don't worry about it," the blonde shrugged then saw Hiruzen, "Oh, gramps. I didn't see you there."

He walked up to them, "What were you two doing just now?"

"Oh, Gaara was telling me how his sand acts on its own sometimes so I suggested he concentrate and try to test it out on me and it worked. He didn't hurt me at all." Naruto explained.

Hiruzen sighed, "Your really reckless you know that? But you did help your friend, so I suppose its okay."

"Friend…" Gaara stared at Naruto with a thoughtful expression.

"Yeah, we're friends." The blonde smiled.

"Friends…" Gaara smiled, "I have a friend…I can't wait to tell Yashamaru."

"Who's that?" Naruto raised a brow.

"My uncle." Gaara smiled, "He takes care of me."

Hiruzen could tell that smile of his was truly genuine and Naruto being here with him and treating him like an actual person helped. He just knew it. If only he could take Gaara with them when they head back to the Hidden Leaf, but knew he couldn't.

If only he knew.

* * *

Hiruzen and Naruto were currently staying in the village having decided to leave tomorrow. The blonde was sad that he had to leave Gaara here but knew he couldn't come with them. He was looking out the window seeing it was a full moon out.

Hiruzen saw the boy was deep in thought, something he found himself doing a lot lately. He wondered if Naruto bared any ill will towards his father Minato for sealing the Kyuubi inside of him. Normally he could predict the boy's mental state but recently since he knew of his origins he became more relaxed and calm but did show emotions every once in awhile, like happiness. He showed that a lot around Iruka, the people at Ichiraku and Hinata Hyuuga, who obviously has deep affection for the boy. He didn't think about it too long because felt a two chakra signatures not too far from them making him get up from the bed.

"Gramps?"

He smiled, "I'll be back, wait right here for me."

"Got it."

Hiruzen instantly left the room leaving Naruto by himself to look back out of the window and staring up at the sky in wonder, _'I wonder what Gaara's doing right now.'_

Meanwhile Hiruzen had arrived just in time to see Gaara crying over his uncle's body, the man was still alive but barely. He approached the boy, "Gaara…"

Gaara looked up at him in horror, "H-Hokage-sama…Yashamaru…he…he's…"

Hiruzen hugged the boy making him flinch, "It's alright, you don't have to explain anything to me. I can guess what happened." He rubbed the back of the boy's head.

Gaara still cried into the old man's robe, he didn't mean to hurt his uncle…he didn't mean to.

Hiruzen pulled back and looked at the boy, "Gaara listen to me well. I'm going to have a clone take you to where me and Naruto are staying while I stay here and see what I can do for your uncle, okay?"

The boy's eyes were wet but he nodded anyway, "O-Okay…"

He smiled, "Good," he brought two fingers up creating a clone which appeared right next to him, "Take him to the place where we're currently staying and guard them."

"Understood." The clone nodded picking up the boy and disappearing from sight. With that done he looked down at Yashamaru seeing the man was still breathing, "You attempted to assassinate your own nephew, did you not?"

Yashamaru gave him a tired smile, "Yes…"

Hiruzen gave him a gentle look, "Do you really hate Gaara?"

The blonde closed his eyes, "Honestly…I don't. The person I hate he most is _that man_."

"The Kazekage." Hiruzen guessed.

Yashamaru closed his eyes then opened them looking up at the night sky, "Hokage-sama…can I ask…a favor?"

"Yes."

The blonde had tears streaming down his eyes, "Will you…please…take Gaara away from this horrible place…and into your village…?"

Hiruzen's eyes widened slightly but then went back to normal, "Why request such a thing?"

"Because…deep down…I really love Gaara and want him to be happy…please…please…take him away from this horrible place and give him love…please…" Yashamaru begged his tears falling from his eyes.

Hiruzen bent down, "You have my word that I will take Gaara far away from here," he smiled, "And I have a feeling he and Naruto will always be there for each other and support each other whenever they need it."

Yashamaru smiled closing his eyes, "Thank…you…" he took his very last breath but still kept his smile.

Hiruzen stood up, "I will take care of the boy, I promise."

* * *

When Naruto saw the old man's clone bring in Gaara who was crying he wasn't happy at all. As soon as the clone put the redhead down he hugged Naruto tightly and kept crying. The blonde merely returned the hug not saying a thing letting the red head hug him till he was satisfied. When he finally calmed down both boys sat on the bed and began talking.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

Gaara was holding Naruto's hand with his right and rubbing his eyes with his left, "Y-Yashamaru…he tried to kill me."

"He what?" Naruto narrowed his eyes.

Gaara nodded sadly, "He said father told him to do it…" he squeezed the blonde's hand slightly, "Naruto…are you scared of me?"

The blonde rolled his eyes, "If I was afraid of you then I wouldn't be sitting here talking with you now would I? I'll never be afraid of you, you're my friend Gaara. And that will never change."

Gaara gave him a small smile and leaned his head on the blonde's shoulder closing his eyes, "Thank you…"

Naruto chuckled, "You thanked me already, remember?" he yawned, "I don't know about you, but I'm tired. We should get to sleep."

"Mm."

Both boys crawled underneath the bed staring at the ceiling, "Naruto?"

"What?"

"Can I…can I hold your hand?" the red head asked timidly.

"Sure." Naruto lifted his hand from underneath the sheets and held it out for the red head to take. Gaara smiled and took hold of his hand with a content smile on his face.

"Naruto…we'll be friends for a long time, right?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah, we will…" and just like that the blond drifted off into slumber land with Gaara watching his sleeping face since he doesn't sleep.

 **Naruto's Mindscape **

Naruto woke up but not in reality, but his own mind. He looked around confused for a minute not understanding what happened, "Where…" he heard a chuckle behind him and saw it was a man with pale skin and wrinkles. He has spiky, shoulder-length, pale-red hair, with a chin-length, braided lock hanging in front of his left ear. He also sported a goatee. The man also had a pair of horn protrusions extending from either side of his forehead. He had a red marking in the center of his forehead, wearing a white, full-length kimono with a pattern of six black magatama around a high collar, beneath which, he wore a necklace which was also made up of six black magatama. On the back of his kimono was a larger, black marking with a pattern of nine magatama arranged in three rows of three beneath it.

Naruto stared at the man, his instincts telling him that this guy's not bad but definitely not someone you wanna mess with.

The man smiled, **"Naruto…"**

The blonde was taken back, "H-How do you know my name? And who are you?"

The man kept his smile, **"My name is…Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki."**

"Hagoromo…Ōtsutsuki?" Naruto repeated.

Hagoromo nodded, **"Yes, sorry for the sudden intrusion but I wanted to see you."**

"You wanted…to see me…?" Naruto couldn't believe it.

Hagoromo lifted his arm and rested his hand on the blonde's head; **"You've been through quite a lot for someone your age. It saddens me."**

Naruto said nothing knowing what he was talking about, how he's the host for the Kyūbi. But even knowing that, the boy didn't blame the Kyūbi for anything.

Hagoromo smiled having guessed what the boy was thinking and moved his hand to cover his eyes making the boy jump, **"I think it's time you awaken your clan's power…we will meet again…Naruto."** His hand glowed white and Naruto's body glowed white soon after but then screamed out in pain because of his eyes. When the hand moved away Naruto was hunched over holding his eyes, but slowly lifted his head squinting his eyes to try and lessen the pain but soon passed out but Hagoromo caught the boy.

He gave him a gentle smile and rubbed is head, **"Naruto, I will be watching over you. For you are…"**

 **Back to Reality**

"Naruto! Naruto, wake up!" Gaara shook his blonde friend awake.

Naruto snapped his eyes opened and sat up quickly but soon put a hand over his eyes, "It hurts…"

Hiruzen who had arrived not too long ago approached the boy, "What hurts? Your eyes?"

Naruto nodded rubbing his eyes to try and lessen the pain but it only made it worse so Hiruzen grabbed his hand and pulled it away and saw the boy's eyes were closed but were shaking, "Let me see Naruto, open your eyes slowly."

He did as he was told and slowly opened his eyes making Hiruzen's breath hitch, Naruto's eyes were now purple with ripple patterns that spread over the eyeball.

Gaara stared at his new friends eyes in fascination, "Naruto…your eyes."

"What? What's wrong with them?" The blonde was about to start panicking but Hiruzen put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Relax Naruto," Hiruzen said gently, "Listen, I want you to close your eyes and concentrate."

Naruto didn't get it but did as he was told anyway and closed his eyes concentrating like the old man told him to. Taking a deep breath and completely relaxing he opened them again looking at them both, "Well? Are my eyes back to normal?"

Hiruzen smiled, "Yes they are, good job my boy."

The blonde sighed, "What was wrong with them?"

Hiruzen hesitated for a minute but then sighed himself, "Gaara sit next to Naruto, I want to tell this to both of you."

Gaara nodded and sat next to Naruto staring up at the old man in curiosity. Hiruzen closed his eyes then opened them showing both boys a serious expression, "The reason Naruto's eyes changed is because he's awakened a powerful Dōjutsu known as "Rinnegan."

"Rinnegan?" both boys repeated.

Hiruzen nodded, "Rinnegan is known as the one of the "Three Great Dōjutsu," along with the Sharingan and Byakugan."

Naruto blinked, "So…I'm like Hinata then when it comes to changing your eyes?"

"In a way," Hiruzen smiled, "It is said that if the world becomes surrounded in disorder, the one who wields the Rinnegan descends from the heavens to become the "God of Creation," who will bring calm to the world or "Destroyer," who will reduce the world to nothingness." He then had a thought, _'This is the first time I'm actually seeing it for myself. I thought it was a lost Dōjutsu, but Naruto has awakened it…I wonder how?'_

Naruto frowned, "I'm not some kind of god, I'm a human being."

"Yes I know that Naruto, but what I'm saying is that your Rinnegan gives you a wide range of abilities without any help from your chakra to keep the eyes active. When activated it allows you to see chakra as well as the flow within its body. Not to mention, you can easily master any jutsu, as well as all five Nature Transformations. Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water." He explained.

Gaara smiled, "Then that means Naruto can learn all five elements without any problems? That's amazing!"

Naruto blinked absorbing this information, "Gramps..."

"I know, it's a lot to take in. get some sleep and we'll talk more about it in the morning." Hiruzen smiled at the blonde.

Naruto nodded and laid his head down on the pillow closing his eyes to sleep, but Gaara was wide awake much to the old man's confusion, "Gaara, are you not tired?"

Gaara shook his head, "I don't sleep."

"You don't?"

"No, but its okay. This way I can watch over Naruto as he sleeps." Gaara smiled.

The old man saw the resolve in the young boy's eyes, seeing that he was very protective over Naruto despite having just met. But, there was the seal on the boy that was a cause for concern. It wasn't a very strong one and he would have to take care of it because the Ichibi could bust out easily…then again, he didn't have to do it himself. _He_ could do it, now all he had to do now was find him.

Which wouldn't be too hard…where there are women there's Jiraiya.

* * *

When morning came, Hiruzen told Gaara that his uncle requested he take Gaara away from the Sunagakure to live with them in Konohagakure. The boy cried when the old man told him that Yashamaru said he really loved Gaara and hated his father who be believed responsible for the death of his sister and putting Shukaku inside Gaara. The red haired boy nodded with glee because that would mean he could be with Naruto a lot more and the blonde was just as happy to have Gaara by his side. They left the village early morning so they wouldn't have to deal with the village guards. As soon as they were out of the village walls Hiruzen told them they were going to find an old student of his named Jiraiya, he told them that he's part of the Legendary Sannin.

"The Legendary Sannin…" Naruto said in wonder.

Gaara was also in wonder about meeting one of the legendary Sannin.

"Jiraiya wasn't the only student of mine," Hiruzen continued, "There was Jiraiya The Toad Sage, Tsunade The Slug Princess…and Orochimaru."

Naruto noticed that old man's tone sounded sad when he said Orochimaru, he felt like this person meant the world to him. They were out of the village's border and went to stay at an inn somewhere to rest up. Naruto wanted to stay up and talk to Gaara all night but he fell asleep while Gaara watched over him. Not being able to sleep was starting to work out for him.

Hiruzen had gone out earlier telling them he was going to see a certain toad, which brings us to where the old man is now looking around until he finally spotted the white haired ninja shaking his head. He was right behind him in a flash, "And what do you think your doing?"

Jiraiya jerked spinning to look behind him so fast that he probably got whiplash, "You…old man!"

"Indeed," Hiruzen sighed, "You haven't changed a bit, still doing your _research_ for that novel of yours?"

"Hey! My research is a great inspiration as you clearly see with the popularity of my novel!" Jiraiya bragged.

Hiruzen gave him a deadpanned look, "Is that so?"

Jiraiya sweat-dropped, "Anyway, why are you here?"

"I just came back from Sunagakure along with Naruto who I brought with me." Hiruzen informed.

"Naruto? He's with you?" Jiraiya was surprised to hear that.

"That's what I just said, you never were the one to pay attention to anything I told you." The old man sighed.

Jiraiya pouted.

"While I was there I met their host for Shukaku." Hiruzen told him.

"The Ichibi." The white haired man said.

"Yes, he was treated just as bad as Naruto. The villagers would show open hostility and fear for the boy, but Naruto being the person that he is stayed with Gaara and played with him and even did something so reckless." He said.

"Reckless?" Jiraiya raised a brow.

He sighed, "Naruto told Gaara to use his sand on him since the boy's sand attacks people on its own. Gaara sent his sand at him only for it to stop and simply move around Naruto almost as though it was examining him."

Jiraiya brought his finger to his chin in thought, "It sounds like Gaara's sand refuses to put a finger on Naruto, could it be Shikaku's influence?"

"I'm not sure, but the reason I came to see you is about both boys. Gaara's seal…and Naruto's dōjutsu.

Jiraiya nodded, "I see…wait…WHAT?!"

* * *

Gaara was watching his friend sleep worried that what happened to him at his old village would happen again, but so far nothings happened yet and that was a good thing. He felt so giddy, how could he not be? He was also feared and hated for reasons he didn't know, but then Naruto appeared before him and became his very first friend and to top it all off his sand didn't hurt him either. Now, he was going to start a new life in a new village with his friend Naruto. He just couldn't wait. He heard the door open and in came Hiruzen along with a man with white hair that was in a long ponytail.

Gaara stared at the man, _'He must be Hokage-sama's student.'_

Hiruzen smiled, "Gaara, let me introduce you to my perverted student Jiraiya."

Jiraiya huffed and crossed his arms.

Gaara got off the bed and bowed politely, "It's nice to meet you Jiraiya-sama."

"Please kid don't be so formal, just call me Jiraiya-sensei." He told the boy.

"Okay." Gaara smiled.

Jiraiya looked over at the bed seeing the blonde was asleep and walked over to get a closer look, "He really does look like him, I was hoping he'd look like her seeing as how their from the same clan."

Hiruzen chuckled, "He's a mixture of both of them."

Jiraiya shuddered thinking of a certain woman with long red hair with a short temper and scary wrath hopefully he wont grow up to be like her, she was scarier than Tsunade.

Gaara didn't know who they were talking and was about to ask but Hiruzen spoke first, "Gaara, he's here because of the seal on your stomach."

"Seal?" Gaara questioned.

Jiraiya approached lifting up the boy's shirt seeing the seal wasn't very strong at all compared to those of Naruto's clan, he could see why the boy wasn't getting any sleep either. The moment he closes his eyes Shukaku will take over and its lights out for the boy. He looked at the young boy, "Gaara, I'm going to make this seal stronger so you can finally sleep without worry but it'll hurt a little."

Gaara looked torn, he always wanted to sleep without any worry but he wanted to watch over his friend in case something happens. If Naruto was awake he'd want Gaara to make a decision that would make him happy and to do it for himself not for him. The boy looked up at the white haired man, "Make the seal stronger please."

Jiraiya smiled, "Good."

* * *

Naruto slowly opened his eyes blinking a few times to clear the fog from his eyes. When it was finally clear and he could see clearly he saw Gaara was sleeping in the same bed as him with a peaceful look on his face making the blonde smile as he sat up, _'This is the first time I've seen him sleep since I'm usually the first one knocked out.'_ He saw a shadow loom over him and turned around only to see a man with white hair that was in a long ponytail grinning at him like a maniac, so Naruto did the most logical thing a normal person would do in his situation.

 **WHACK**

He punched him right in the face sending the man back and landing on his bottom, "Ow, what was that for?!"

"You were grinning like some kind of weirdo, so I hit you." Naruto stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Jiraiya rubbed his cheek, "Cheeky brat."

"Pervert." Naruto countered.

"Wha?"

Hiruzen chuckled quietly so not to wake up Gaara, "The boy's more perceptive than I thought."

Jiraiya pouted.

"Gramps, who is this?" Naruto asked.

"This is Jiraiya." Hiruzen introduced.

Naruto looked back at the man, "One of the legendary Sannin…"

"Oh, so you've heard of me?"

"Gramps told us, there's you, some lady named Tsunade, and some guy named Orochimaru." Naruto told him.

Jiraiya got a serious face when Orochimaru was mentioned and Naruto didn't miss it, whoever this Orochimaru guy is he's bad news.

"Naruto, do you know the meaning of the seal on your stomach?" Jiraiya asked.

The blonde nodded slowly, "The Kyūbi sealed inside me. Gramps says it's one of the strongest."

Jiraiya was taken back by the fact the old man told him but the look on Hiruzen's face told him why he did what he did and understood, "I see…the seal placed on you is sealing some of your chakra but I'm going to release it."

Naruto just stared at him not understanding but Jiraiya didn't explain any further and simply lifted up his shirt and touched his stomach unsealing the boy's chakra that was sealed along with the Kyūbi. Naruto didn't move a muscle and simply sat still waiting for him to finish up with whatever he was trying to do. After awhile the man removed his hand from the boy's stomach, "There, now how do you feel?"

The blonde blinked then closed his eyes and felt something strange surround him, "I feel fuzzy…is this chakra?"

Jiraiya smirked, "That's right kid, what your feeling is your own chakra."

Naruto opened his eyes, "I've never felt it before though, it feels strange."

"You'll get used to it, by the way I need to see your eyes."

"My eyes?"

"The old man said your eyes changed, I wanted to see it." Jiraiya told him.

The boy looked down, "But…I don't know how to get it work." He felt a hand on his head and looked back up.

"Relax, just close your eyes and concentrate. You'll get it to appear." He smiled.

Naruto stared at him then nodded closing his eyes and concentrating on making his eyes change into that purple color he talked about. What did the old man call them again? Oh yeah…it was, "Rinnegan." He opened his eyes and they changed into that purple color again with ripple patterns that spread over the eyeball.

Jiraiya couldn't believe it, there was someone else who could use Rinnegan. That settled it then, "Naruto, I want you to listen very closely to what I'm about to tell you."

The boy nodded not saying anything.

"I know the old man told you about those eyes of yours but that's not everything." He told the boy.

"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned.

Hiruzen said nothing and simply watched.

"Those eyes are wielded by those of the Uzumaki clan." Jiraiya told him.

"U-Uzumaki clan…? I have a clan?" Naruto stuttered.

The man nodded, "They were a prominent clan that resided in Uzushiogakure, their also descendants of Asura Ōtsutsuki while also sharing a distant blood relation's with the Senju clan. The Uzumaki clan weren't to be underestimated and are still feared despite some of them migrating to other villages after theirs was destroyed. They were mostly know for their Fūinjutsu among other things, it earned them both respect and fear amongst the ninja world. When a member of the Uzumaki clan migrated to Konoha the other nations banded together to destroy them believing them to be too powerful."

Naruto clenched his fist at that.

Jiraiya continued, "Not only were they known for their jutsu and those eyes, they were also known for having strong life forces granting them long lifespans. Not to mention recovering from injuries and exhaustion quicker than most people. They could also heal their allies as well, and then there's those eyes, the "Rinnegan." The Rinnegan is said to be the eyes of a sage and is a feared and respected dōjutsu."

Naruto's eyes went back to normal feeling tears stream down from his eyes, "So then…I had a clan just like everybody else but…their gone…"

Jiraiya rubbed the boy's head, "Not necessarily, there are some members of your clan still out there somewhere. So no tears."

Hiruzen said nothing and closed his eyes, he wanted to wait to tell Naruto all of this but knew he couldn't wait forever. He knew the boy needed to hear all of this and whatever decision he makes he supports it fully.

Naruto wiped his eyes looking up at the man, "I want to see it…"

"See what?"

"The village where they lived…I want to go and see it!" Naruto gave a determined look.

Jiraiya smiled at his determination.

"I want to see it to."

They turned their heads to see Gaara was rubbing the sleep from his eyes having felt refreshed for the first time of his life.

"Gaara, your awake?" Naruto stared.

Gaara moved closer to Naruto sitting next to him, "Naruto is my friend and I want to see where he's originally from."

Naruto blinked then smiled, "Thanks Gaara."

Gaara smiled back.

Jiraiya grinned, "Well alright! We're all going to Uzushiogakure as of right now! It's early in the morning, so we have plenty of time to get there."

Both boys nodded and got off the bed to get ready to head out towards Naruto's origins. Maybe he'll find something about his parents while he's there.

Jiraiya looked at the old man, "They just and already their so close to each other."

"Yes, both boys have experienced pain and loneness but now they no longer have to worry about that." Hiruzen smiled.

"Heh, this should be an interesting trip. But I'm surprised that he awakened his dōjutsu at such a young age. How did it happen?" He asked.

"I'm not sure, Naruto screamed in his sleep then rubbed his eyes because they were in pain. When he opened them they were activated." Hiruzen explained.

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, "So he activated it in his sleep, I've never heard of that happening before."

"Neither have I, but the fact remains that Naruto has awakened to his clans dōjutsu all on his own." The old man stated.

Th white haired Sannin looked over at the boys seeing Naruto smile at Gaara with excitement, _'They have the same eyes. If he were to ever find out about Naruto I wonder what he'd do?'_

* * *

 **Uzushiogakure**

They all arrived at the Land of Whirlpools and saw nothing but water, but that's why it was called the Land of Whirlpools. Naruto and Gaara were amazed by how much water there was, it was fascinating to them.

Jiraiya and Hiruzen started walking ahead prompting the two boys to follow them, the two adults were talking amongst themselves whispering to makes sure the children couldn't hear them, "Are you sure Naruto will be able to handle this?" Hiruzen was worried that the boy's mental state wouldn't be able to handle it.

"He'll be fine, the boy's stronger than you think." Jiraiya said confidently.

The old man sighed, "I hope your right."

Naruto was looking around a little anxious and nervous of the fact that he would be seeing his real birthplace for the very first time. He felt something grab his hand and saw it was Gaara who had a smile on his face making him calm down a little. Walking around some more they finally found the village…only it wasn't exactly in good condition, not that Naruto expected it to be anyway but still…

Naruto took a step forward looking around the place seeing nothing but ruins, "This is it…this is all that's left…"

Jiraiya closed his eyes, "Yeah…"

Naruto walked ahead followed closely by Gaara who didn't think his friend should alone right now.

Hiruzen looked at Jiraiya who was staring at Naruto's backside, "He'll be fine old man, trust me. Anyway, I have some business here as well." he said walking in the opposite direction of the kids with Hiruzen following behind him silently.

* * *

Naruto was walking around staring up at the tall buildings that were crumbled and submerged into the water. He stopped and stared at his own reflection in wonder, "I wonder…if it was still here, would they openly accept me?"

"Of course they would, this is your home and their your family." Gaara told him.

Naruto looked over at him.

The red haired boy stood beside him and looked down at the water, "To me the word "clan" means family. Meaning, that your clan members are your brothers and sisters, aunties and uncles, and grandma and grandpa's. And they maybe be gone but Jiraiya-sensei said there are some out there somewhere, and for the ones that lost their lives their wills still live on…in you."

"Gaara…" Naruto said.

He smiled at him, "You're my very first friend, which is why I'll always stay by your side. I promise." He held his pinkie finger out.

Naruto smiled, "Then me to. I promise to stay by your side too." He linked them together and they both laughed and the blonde felt the weight on his chest be lifted a little bit.

* * *

Jiraiya and Hiruzen were currently at the temple, the white haired man desperately looking for something until he finally found it, "Ah-ha! Here they are!"

"What is it exactly are you looking for?" Hiruzen asked.

Jiraiya picked something up and showed it to him, "This is what I was looking for, the Uzumaki clan's scrolls to their jutsu."

The old mans eyes widened then went back to normal, "I see…and you plan on giving those to him?"

"Not only that," Jiraiya put one of the scrolls inside his jacket, "I'm going to train Naruto from now on."

Hiruzen's eyes widened again, "Does this mean…?"

Jiraiya grinned, "Looks like I'll be returning to Konoha old man."

* * *

"There you are!" Jiraiya called out to the boys making them look at him, "How do you feel?" he asked Naruto.

Naruto looked down, "I'm…a little sad, but Gaara told me something that made me feel better."

"Oh? And what's that?" Jiraiya raised a brow.

The boy looked up with a smile, "That their wills…live on in me!"

Hiruzen smiled, _'That's right, their Will of Fire burns brightly within you. Never forget that.'_

Jiraiya grinned, "Good answer kid! As soon as we get back to the village I'm going to train you in your clans jutsu."

"Really?!" Naruto smiled.

"Yep! I found their scrolls so we're taking them back with us." Jiraiya showed the boy one of the scrolls.

Naruto smiled happily, "Hear that, Gaara?! I'm gonna learn my clans jutsu's!"

"I'm glad." Gaara smiled.

"I'll be training you as well Gaara, but you use sand so we're gonna have to give you something that let's have sand with you all the time." Jiraiya was thinking about what to do.

"I wouldn't worry about that," Hiruzen spoke, "I brought his sand gourd along with me. I have it placed in a scroll."

"In that case then it's fine." Jiraiya crossed his arms.

Naruto was excited to learn some of his clan's jutsu's, not to mention he wanted to practice using his new dōjutsu. Maybe Ero-sennin could help him with that too. As they left they failed to notice someone was staring at them from behind a crumbled building, "Is he…?"

* * *

Having left the ruined village and Land of Waves they stayed at a town that was currently having a festival and the boys were having the time of their lives making the men smile.

Naruto and Gaara were playing a game where it involved trying to catch fish when Jiraiya turned his head for a split second and recognized someone he hadn't seen in a long time, "Tsunade?"

Said woman stopped walking along with another woman who had short black hair holding a little pig in her arms, "Jiraiya? Sarutobi-sensei?"

Hiruzen smiled, "Its good to see you again child, how are you?"

"Fine, I was on my way somewhere to win big." She stated.

"You mean lose big." Jiraiya smirked.

She punched him right in the gut making him keel over grabbing his stomach.

Hiruzen sighed while the black haired woman smiled nervously, "And who might you be young lady?"

"Ah! I'm Shizune and its a pleasure to meet you Hokage-sama!" Shizune bowed.

"There's no need for that Shizune." Hiruzen smiled.

"Anyway, why are the two of you're here?" Tsunade wondered curiously.

The old man simply looked over at the two boys making the two women look over as well, Tsunade's eyes widened when she saw the blonde haired boy talking happily with another boy who had red hair, "Is that…?"

"Yeah," Jiraiya said sitting up having gotten the pain in his stomach to stop throbbing, "He knows of his origins as well, he took it pretty well all things considered."

Naruto heard some new voices from behind him and turned his head to look at them along with Gaara, walking over to the adults he stared up at Tsunade with childlike innocence, "Who are you?"

Tsunade looked at Hiruzen and Jiraiya who simply smiled at her. Looking back at the boy she spoke, "Tsunade Senju."

Naruto kept staring at her, "Your one of the Legendary Sannin just like Ero-sennin!"

Jiraiya squawked at the nickname the boy gave him while Hiruzen, Shizune and Tsunade laughed.

Gaara looked at Naruto, "How come your calling him that?"

"Because he's a pervert." Naruto stated.

"Oh…" Gaara understood.

Jiraiya pouted crossing his arms and looking in the other direction, "Brat."

Tsunade couldn't stop her laughter, just how long has it been since she's laughed this hard? Way too long. "Yeah kid your right, that's exactly what he is."

"Hmph." Was Jiraiya's reply.

Tsunade smiled at the boy, "What's your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki, this is my friend Gaara Sabaku." Naruto introduced both of them.

Gaara bowed politely, "Pleasure to meet you, Tsunade-san."

Tsunade rubbed both their heads, "Nice to meet you both, by the way Naruto your last names very unique."

"I know, I'm from the Uzumaki clan and even went to see it." Naruto smiled.

"See what?" she questioned.

"Uzushiogakure! The place where my clan came from." He smiled.

Tsunade gave Jiraiya and Hiruzen a murderous glare making both men flinch, that's not good.

"Oh, I can also do this," He closed his eyes then opened them again showing her the Rinnegan making both her and Shizune gasp, "What's wrong?"

Tsunade couldn't believe it, _'The Rinnegan! But he's so young!'_

Shizune was having similar thoughts herself.

"Naruto, for now I want you to make your eyes normal again, okay?" Tsunade told the boy who blinked in confusion but making his eyes go back to normal.

Shizune approached the boys with a smile, "Why don't I take you two to get some sweets, would you like that?"

"Okay!" they smiled taking each hand of hers and letting the woman take them away from the three adults that clearly needed to have a little talk.

Unknown to them the same person that was seen at Uzushiogakure had followed them and saw Naruto use the Rinnegan, "Finally…I found you…"

* * *

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Tsunade yelled at both men. They were currently having drinks at a bar so her yelling got everyone's attention.

"Now Tsunade just calm down-" Jiraiya tried to calm the woman down.

"Calm down?! How can I calm down when you were stupid enough to take him to see the village! Have you lost your minds?!" She yelled.

"The boy wanted to go!" He yelled back.

That snapped her back to reality.

"He said he wanted to see where it was," Jiraiya said more calmly, "He wanted to see where he originated from Tsunade. Trust me when I tell you that at first I didn't want to take him there because he's still a kid and seeing what was left of the village might be hard for him to see. But as soon as we got there he walked around looking without tearing his eyes away from what was left of the village, I realized then that I underestimated him and he's a strong kid."

Hiruzen smiled, "When he was done looking around his friend Gaara made him realize that the Will of Fire of his clansman burn brightly within him."

She sighed, "As long as he's okay with it…then I won't complain. Did you tell him about _that_?" she eyed both men carefully.

"I didn't, the old man here did." Jiraiya told her truthfully.

Tsunade looked at the old man taking a deep breath, "How did he take it?"

The old man sighed, "Not well, but his personality has completely changed."

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya questioned.

The old man stared at his drink, "He would smile all the time despite everything, but after I told him everything he started to isolate himself from everyone except for Iruka, me, and Hinata Hyūga. This is the first time he's been open about his emotions and that's because he's met Gaara and share the same thing."

"Then the red haired kids also…" Tsunade started.

"He's the host for Shukaku, the Ichibi." Hiruzen informed her.

"I see," Tsunade finished her drink then looked out the window, "Sarutobi-sensei, Jiraiya."

"Yes?" Hiruzen said.

Jiraiya was curious what she wanted to say himself.

"I've decided that I'm-" she was cut off from a familiar scream and sat up quickly along with Jiraiya and Hiruzen, "That was Shizune!"

"Let's go!" Jiraiya said running out of the bar with Tsunade and Hiruzen.

* * *

Shizune was staring at a woman with long wavy red hair and furious purple eyes, she and the children were outside eating dango's when she came out of nowhere and attacked them. She managed to get the kids out of the way had them stay behind her, "Who are you?!" Shizune took out her Senbon ready to fight the woman with everything she had.

The woman glared at her, "Give him to me…"

Shizune gave a defiant glare at the woman, "Who do you mean?"

"Give to me now! He's my family!" she yelled.

It didn't take long for Shizune to connect the dots and looked over at Naruto who didn't understand what was going on right along with Gaara, _'She's after Naruto! But, what does she mean by family? Wait! Could she be?'_ turning her head back she asked, "Are you…an Uzumaki?"

The woman said nothing and came at Shizune quickly with her fist incased in chakra, the black haired woman recognized what she was doing and grabbed the boys getting out of the way as her fist made contact with the ground creating a crater and making people run away in fear.

Shizune stared at the woman in complete shock, _'She's strong! She could be at Lady Tsunade's level!'_

Naruto and Gaara were staring at the woman as well, is this person really an Uzumaki?

"Please wait! I don't understand why your attacking!" Shizune yelled.

The woman looked absolutely furious, "He's my family! He's part of our clan! You ninja's tried destroyed out home and now you want to claim rights to us?! We're human beings!"

"I know you are and so is Naruto!" Shizune said making the woman stop when she began to advance.

"What?" the woman stared.

"I don't know what happened, but I assure you that I would never harm your family! Naruto has people who deeply care about him, one of them being me!" Shizune said honestly.

Naruto looked up at Shizune in surprise, but smiled when she said she cares about him.

The woman saw the boy smile and was no longer hostile towards the woman seeing that everything she said was true making Shizune sigh with relief.

Naruto stood next to Shizune this time as did Gaara, "Hey lady…are you my family?"

The red haired woman smiled and bent down so she was eye level with him, "Yes I am, my names Himeko Uzumaki. I guess you can say I'm a relative but I am a member of the Uzumaki clan, and if its alright with you will you call me big sister?"

Naruto stared at the woman then smiled, "Then…Nee-chan."

Himeko couldn't help herself and hugged the boy tightly taking him by surprise but he hugged her back, Gaara smiled at them both. Finally his friend found a living relative.

Shizune was smiling as well.

"Looks like we didn't need to intervene." Jiraiya said walking over to them along with Tsunade and Hiruzen, "She's part of the Uzumaki clan, huh? Guess instead of Naruto trying to find them, one found him."

"There's a possibility she followed us from Uzushiogakure and we didn't notice it until just now," Hiruzen theorized, "She must've hid her presence to avoid detection."

"That makes her an Uzumaki alright." Tsunade stated.

* * *

They decided to check inside an Inn and stay for the night, the boys were asleep already with Tonton sleeping in between them, so the adults decided to talk to their new travelling companion.

Hiruzen smiled at the young woman, "You said your name was Himeko, yes?"

She nodded and bowed, "I'm sorry for attacking your friend, but I honestly believed the boy was in danger."

"It's okay!" Shizune smiled.

"Where did you migrate after the destruction of Uzushiogakure?" Tsunade asked.

She shook her head, "I didn't migrate anywhere, I've actually been travelling ever since our village was destroyed. It was only now that I wanted to visit my old village so I went there and I saw you two." She gestured to Jiraiya and Hiruzen.

"I see." Hiruzen said.

"When I saw the two boys the blonde one got my attention for some reason, so I sensed his chakra signature and felt an instant connection and I knew that he was part of the Uzumaki clan. Our chakra signature is very distinctive, that and I sensed the Kyūbi within him."

Tsunade was on edge when she said that, "How do you know about the Kyūbi?"

"The founder of our village had decided to seal the Kyūbi inside Mito Uzumaki, then after her years were coming to an end they sought out a new host." Himeko informed them.

"Kushina Uzumaki," Jiraiya got it quickly, "Naruto's mother."

Shizune and Tsunade gasped, "Wait a minute! You mean Naruto's mother was the host for the Kyūbi before Naruto?! Then who sealed it inside Naruto then?"

Jiraiya sighed, "Minato Namikaze, Naruto's father."

Hiruzen closed his eyes.

Tsunade sighed and leaned back into her chair, "I didn't know Kushina was the original host."

"Me neither." Shizune was worried for the boy.

Tsunade stood up, "Anyway, we better get some sleep Shizune."

"Eh?"

"We're going to Konoha with the old man and pervert in the morning." She said.

Shizune and Jiraiya looked at her as though she grew a second head, and Hiruzen was surprised himself not expecting her go back after stating many times she wouldn't.

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Jiraiya wondered, not that he was complaining she was coming back with them but he was still taken by surprise.

She smirked, "Isn't it obvious? I need to look after my relatives after all."

Himeko didn't understand at first then made the connection, "Y-You're a Senju?!"

"Yep, guess that makes us cousins." Tsunade grinned.

"C-C-C-Cousins?!" Shizune stuttered.

Jiraiya couldn't help but grin at her reaction while Hiruzen smiled, _'Naruto, you have family everywhere. Never forget that.'_

* * *

Jiraiya sighed as he made sure the boy on his back was safely secured as he was taking a nap, kids have a lot energy sure but they get tired out as well. Even Gaara was fast asleep and the old man was carrying him on his back, he couldn't help but smile. Tsunade told him that they were distant relatives but still related which made him so happy that he blurted out Baa-chan and hugged the woman. Tsunade's eyebrow twitched but hugged the boy back anyway. So now here they are back in Konoha having just walked through the gate, the villagers were looking at them with happy faces because its been a long time since Jiraiya and Tsunade had been here. They also glared at the blonde on Jiraiya's back but soon looked away when he released his KI as if daring them to try anything the same with Tsunade and Himeko, the red haired woman would be damned if she left this villagers glare at her little brother for no reason and no one was brave enough to mess with Tsunade. Gaara had woken up when he felt Jiraiya's KI and saw the villagers had glared at Naruto, he knew what that felt like having suffered from it many times and no matter how nice and polite he had been they would glare at him or send fearful gazes. It was then he realized Naruto was a lot like him, and that made his decision easier.

"Jiraiya," Hiruzen called out to the man making him turn around, "Minato's old home is still intact, we can have Naruto, Gaara, and Himeko move there."

"Sounds like a plan, I'll move in with them. Then tomorrow we can start training." Jiraiya said.

Tsunade sighed, "I'll help them out Sarutobi-sensei, you head to the office and sign the paperwork for Gaara and Himeko."

He closed his eyes, "Very well," he felt his back move and saw Gaara was awake, "Good to see your awake."

Gaara simply nodded and got of the old mans back, "I'll help too, with my sand."

Hiruzen chuckled, "Then I better bring out your sand gourd then, work hard."

"Yes sir." Gaara nodded.

 **Later**

Naruto put down the last piece of furniture then looked around with a smile, "This is my new home…" the place was very big almost like a safe house and there were about six rooms that were also pretty big much to his amusement.

"Are you all done?" Gaara came in with his sand gourd on his back.

"Yeah, you hungry?" Naruto asked.

Gaara nodded, "Where do you usually go to eat?"

"Ichiraku Ramen! Ramen is food from the gods!" Naruto told Gaara.

"I see." Gaara said seriously.

Jiraiya sweat-dropped having come out of the room hearing their conversation, "Dear lord."

* * *

Jiraiya walked with the kids on their way to Ichiraku, Himeko went to go pick up some groceries so she couldn't come along with them. The boys were talking in front of him happily ignoring the glares that were directed at Naruto, Jiraiya eyed them making them look away out of fear for the Sannin. As they continued walking Gaara noticed the glares they were giving Naruto and frowned, he knew Naruto felt their glares but he ignored them. If any of the villagers got any funny ideas and started throwing things at him then Gaara would respond in kind. He already made up his mind to protect Naruto from anything and anyone.

They arrived at Ichiraku and saw a girl there with blue hair, "Huh? Hinata is that you?"

Said girl turned around quickly and blushed, "N-Naruto-kun!"

"It is you," he sat on her left, "What are you doing here at Ichiraku?"

Hinata fumbled with her fingers, "Um, well you see…you like ramen so I-I thought I'd eat it for the first time."

Gaara sat down next to Naruto observing her and deemed she wasn't a threat and smiled, "Gaara Sabaku." He introduced.

She only then just noticed him, "U-Um, its nice to meet you…I'm Hinata Hyūga."

Jiraiya sat down next to the girl observing her interaction with Naruto and smirked seeing she had a huge crush on the boy, _'Not even a teenager yet, and he's already got girls falling for him. Even though she's the Hyūga clan's heiress.'_

Teuchi came out the back smiling the instant he spotted Naruto, "Naruto, its nice to see you!"

"Hey there old man Teuchi." Naruto greeted.

"Haven't seen you in a while, did Hokage-sama take you on another field trip again?" the man asked kindly already preparing Naruto's favorite ramen dish.

"Yeah, to the Sunagakure. By the way, this is my friend Gaara." Naruto introduced.

Gaara smiled, "Gaara Sabaku, it's a pleasure to meet you, Teuchi-san."

"Nice to meet you Gaara, I hope you and Naruto stay friends for a very long time." Teuchi grinned.

"Me too." Gaara smiled.

Ayame then came out from the back and smiled at the blonde, "Naruto, your back! How was your trip?"

Naruto smiled, "It was great, I learned about a lot of things, I even made a new friend." He gestured over to Gaara.

Gaara smiled and greeted her as well, "Awww, he's such a sweetie~!"

Teuchi looked over for a moment seeing Jiraiya, "Its nice to have you here, Jiraiya-sama. Not just you, Tsunade-sama as well."

"Heh, you know its not that bad actually. Being back here after such a long time." Jiraiya commented.

"I can tell." Teuchi put three ramen bowls down in front of Naruto, Gaara, and Hinata.

Naruto clasped his hands together, "Itadakimasu."

Hinata and Gaara copied him, "Itadakimasu."

All three dug into their ramen and smiled happily at the flavor making the three adults chuckle, "Just like I thought, ramen is food from the gods!" Naruto smiled.

"So good." Gaara mumbled.

Hinata was smiling happily as well, "This is really good!"

"Glad you like it!" Teuchi grinned with pride.

Gaara spotted the soy sauce and decided to put a little on the ramen and ate it to see how it tastes sighing in complete bliss he poured nearly all of it on his ramen much to Naruto and Hinata's horror, "Gaara, that's too much!"

Gaara didn't care and put the soy sauce down before going back to eating his ramen and moaned at the taste, "So good~"

Naruto sweat-dropped, "Seriously?"

Hinata blinked in amazement, "Gaara has a unique taste bud."

Jiraiya snorted, "I'll say. I almost feel sorry for the kid because now ramen is all he'll eat."

* * *

Jiraiya brought the boys plus Hinata back to the house, the girl asking if she could stay the night and he agreed. The kids were playing stack the cards with Gaara being the winner since he can use his sand to go as high as he wants. After that the little tikes were all tuckered out on the living room floor so Jiraiya went to get a blanket big enough to cover them all up.

Himeko came back about 5 minutes later and saw the scene before her, "He looks so peaceful."

"Yeah…but he'll be even more tired tomorrow, because his training will begin." Jiraiya told her seriously.

Himeko understood completely and didn't protest, "Will it just be him?"

Jiraiya looked over at Gaara, "I think I'll train Gaara right along with Naruto. If Hinata wants to join in then it's her choice, I cant force her to do something she doesn't want to do."

Himeko didn't complain and knew her little brother would need to know their clans ninjutsu including their fūinjutsu which made them a target for destruction in the first place. She had faith that whatever trials might be ahead he'll have two loyal friends by his side.

* * *

 **Next Time: Prologue: Training**


	2. Prologue: Training!

Time to train! Yamato will be their sensei when they graduate from the Academy.

* * *

Naruto yawned having been forced to get up at the crack of dawn thanks to Jiraiya, but didn't complain much when the man said it was time for him to train. The blonde wasn't complaining even though he wasn't happy about getting up early he'll just have to deal with it. Gaara and Hinata were up early too, the white haired man said that he would be training both him and Gaara which made him happy. What surprised him though was Hinata, he thought she'd go home but insisted on staying because she said she wanted to get stronger (Though Jiraiya knew it was because she had a crush on the blonde and wanted to train with him). Jiraiya found out that the kids were on a summer break and when the new year starts they'll be going back to school, the man wanted them to be ready by then and hopefully graduate earlier than their classmates. Tsunade and Shizune were currently working at the hospital with the blond woman acting as the head doctor and Shizune the head nurse due to their advanced medical knowledge.

So now here they are at the Third Training Grounds. According to Jiraiya the old man used this place to train him and Tsunade when they were a little older than them.

"Okay, the first thing we're going to do is learn chakra control." Jiraiya told them.

"Chakra control?" Hinata questioned.

Jiraiya nodded, "That's right, takes a lot of time and a great deal of training to gradually build up. You see, the key is not to actually have a large amounts of chakra but instead being able to control and conserve it hence why it's called "Chakra Control."

"Wow, I didn't know it worked that way." Naruto commented.

Gaara nodded in agreement.

"Now, in order to have good chakra control a ninja should mold as much chakra as they need to perform a given ability. If you mold more chakra than what's needed then the excess chakra is wasted and you'll tire out faster." Jiraiya explained.

"I think I get it." Naruto said.

"M-Me too." Hinata said.

"Mm." Gaara said.

"Good, now the first thing we're gonna learn is the Leaf Concentration Practice. Have you heard of it?" Jiraiya asked.

They all shook their heads.

Jiraiya grabbed three leaves from a tree and placed them on the kid's foreheads much to their confusion, "This is one of the methods of chakra control. The point of this is method is to have you direct all of your chakra onto the leaf, and to keep your mind concentrated without any distractions."

"So we have to only focus on the leaf and nothing else that's around us?" Gaara asked to be sure he got it right.

Jiraiya smirked, "That's right. All right you brats give it a try."

They nodded and closed their eyes concentrating on only the leaf, Jiraiya stood there and watched waiting to see what would happen. After about 5 minutes had passed the leaves on their foreheads were surrounded in chakra.

He smiled, _'It usually takes longer than that for kids their age to get it right, but these three are special. Hinata because of her Hyūga heritage, Naruto because of his Uzumaki heritage and the Kyūbi, and Gaara because of the Ichibi and his skills with sand.'_

The kids had their eyes closed still concentrating on only the leaf and nothing else, "Alright, that's enough you can stop." Jiraiya told them making them open their eyes and the blue aura surrounding the leaves disappeared.

"Good job, you three pass the first stage in chakra control."

Hinata smiled, "We did it!"

"It felt kinds weird concentrating on the leaf that was on my forehead but it wasn't so bad." Naruto smiled.

"That was a great experience." Gaara smiled.

"Now then, we're moving onto the second stage. Tree Climbing." He grinned.

Naruto and Gaara gave him a blank expression while Hinata looked really confused.

Laughing at their expressions he went on to explain, "This is another method in chakra control, see this time you concentrate on the chakra in your feet."

"In our feet?" Naruto questioned.

"That's right," Jiraiya walked over by a tree then walked right up on it making their eyes widen. Jiraiya was hanging upside down from a tree branch with his arms crossed a smile plastered on his face, "This is what I mean."

Naruto blinked, "So chakra can let you do this too? Amazing…"

"Back in Sunagakure they have a similar system, but instead of tree climbing they do rock climbing." Gaara informed them.

"That's even more amazing." Hinata complimented.

"Alright kids give it a try." Jiraiya said.

The kids looked at each other before nodding their heads and walking over by three trees, then channeled their chakra into their feet but this time it was a lot quicker than it was when they were concentrating on the leaf on their foreheads. Having got that done they all walked on the tree with no problems and were currently hanging upside down with smiles on their faces.

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of this." Naruto smiled.

"It's much easier than it looks." Gaara commented.

"I was worried it wouldn't work, but I'm glad it did." Hinata sighed with relief.

Jiraiya grinned, "And now you've past the second stage of chakra control. Now there's the last one you've gotta do then we can move onto basic jutsu's before we get more advanced."

"Sounds good to me." Naruto said.

Gaara nodded.

Hinata had a determined look on her face.

Jiraiya jumped down with the kids following right behind him, "We're going to a different location for this one."

The kids nodded eager to see what the last one would be.

* * *

"…"

"…"

"…"

"What's with the faces?" Jiraiya raised a brow.

Naruto gave him a deadpanned look, "You expect us to walk on water?"

"Is that even possible?" Gaara added.

"U-Um, I was wondering the same thing." Hinata confessed.

Jiraiya grinned, "Trust me, this is the last step to maintaining chakra control. Now for this you have to send a constant chakra stream from the bottom of your feet, which makes this one more difficult than the tree climbing step." He started to walk on the water making their mouths form an "o" shape and saw he had complete control over it, "Now then, your turn."

They nodded and focused their chakra in their feet, after about a minute they started walking on the water but very slowly not wanting to break their concentration but seeing that they stayed above water they relaxed.

Jiraiya was even more impressed, _'Normally when shinobi try these steps it takes them a lot longer to get it under control. These kids really are prodigies.'_ He crossed his arms with a grin plastered on his face, "Congrats you all pass."

"Alright!" Naruto smirked.

Gaara smiled.

"We completed all three steps!" Hinata said happily.

Jiraiya clapped his hands, "Good job brats, now we're going to be moving onto basic jutsu's by first starting off with the Clone Technique."

"Clone technique…" Naruto mumbled.

"We'll head back to the training grounds for this one, so lets go." He walked away from a river he found and brought them back to the training grounds for the Clone technique, "Now then, there are two types of cloning techniques. The basic one, "Clone Technique" then the more advanced one "Shadow Clone."

"So there are two types." Gaara mumbled.

Jiraiya did the hand seals: **Ram → Snake → Tiger** , "Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu)." Two clones appeared on his right and left side looking exactly like him impressing the kids.

"W-Wow…they all look alike." Hinata stared at them.

"This is what the cloning jutsu looks like? Pretty cool." Naruto complimented.

"With more training you'll be able to distinguish the real from the fake just by looking at them with or without dōjutsu. Now then, Naruto you go first." Jiraiya said.

Naruto nodded and performed the hands seals: **Ram → Snake → Tiger** , "Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu)!" two clones appeared on each side of him.

"Amazing, Naruto-kun!" Hinata complimented.

"Well done." Gaara smiled.

Naruto sighed then looked at Jiraiya who nodded his head with a smile making the boy proud.

"Good job Naruto," Jiraiya congratulated the boy, "Gaara, your turn."

Gaara nodded and performed the hand seals: **Ram → Snake → Tiger** , "Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu)." He created two clones just like Naruto did.

"Good," Jiraiya smiled, "Hinata, now you."

Hinata gave a determined nod and performed the hand seals: **Ram → Snake → Tiger** , "Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu)!" she also created two clones making her smile, "I did it!"

"Nice, Hinata." Naruto smiled.

"Nice job." Gaara complimented her with a smile.

Hinata blushed with the compliments they gave her, "Th-Thank you…"

Jiraiya dispelled his clones, "Good job, you three will blow your classmates away when you go back to the academy."

All three smiled at the compliment.

"Alright, now that you know how to do the basic cloning jutsu we'll try something more advanced. The Transformation Technique." Jiraiya grinned.

"Transformation Technique?" Hinata questioned.

"That's right, this technique is E-level just like the Cloning technique but is much more difficult to do because it requires a constant emission of chakra while mentally maintaining the form. This technique requires you to transform into somebody else, for example." He performed the hand seals: **Dog → Boar → Ram** , "Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)." There was a puff of smoke and in his place was Tsunade making Naruto and Gaara roll their eyes.

"Why am I not surprised?" Naruto deadpanned.

"Pervert." Gaara frowned.

"Eh?" Hinata said confused.

Jiraiya-Tsunade pouted, "How rude, all have you know that I've been studying Tsunade's body since we were kids, so as far as I'm concerned this is a flawless transformation!"

 _'_ _Yeah, for perverts.'_ Naruto and Gaara thought.

Jiraiya changed back, "Now it's your turn brats, Naruto you go first."

Naruto nodded and performed the hand seals: **Dog → Boar → Ram** , "Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)!" Naruto transformed into Gaara much to the boy's happiness, "What do you think?"

"Very impressive, but why Gaara?" Jiraiya already knew the answer but wanted to know anyway.

"Isn't it obvious? It's because he's my best friend." Naruto-Gaara crossed his arms to prove his point.

Gaara smiled, "I feel the same."

Naruto-Gaara grinned.

 _'_ _I figured that much out already, just thought I'd ask anyway.'_ Jiraiya smirked, "Gaara, your turn."

Gaara wasted no time in performing the hand seals: **Dog → Boar → Ram** , "Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)." He transformed into Naruto, which didn't come as a surprise to anyone there.

Jiraiya nodded with a smile, "Hinata."

Hinata gave him a determined look and performed the hand seals: **Dog → Boar → Ram** , "Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)!" she turned into Naruto too making Jiraiya laugh his ass off.

Naruto-Gaara stared at him like he'd just grown a second head, "What's with you?"

Jiraiya managed to stop laughing, "N-Nothing, anyway you all pass and can change back now."

They all went back to looking like themselves.

"Now we're going to a more advanced technique of the cloning jutsu which is called, "Shadow Clone Jutsu." Jiraiya explained.

"Shadow clone jutsu…" Naruto mumbled.

"This is a B-rank clone technique, what the Shadow Clones different from the basic cloning technique is that not only do they have their own personalities, they can also use the same jutsu's as the original." Jiraiya explained, "Their also good for gathering intelligence, say for example you create a clone to seek out information and they get what they need. When they disappear that information is then automatically passed onto the original."

"Really? That's amazing." Hinata blinked.

"That is useful." Naruto said.

Gaara nodded in agreement.

Jiraiya brought up two fingers on each hand, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)." He created a shadow clone that waved to them.

"The clone really does have its own personality." Naruto waved back.

"That's amazing." Gaara stared.

"It is." Hinata agreed.

Jiraiya made the Shadow Clone disappear, "Naruto, you start off first."

Naruto nodded bringing up two fingers on each hand, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)!" he created a shadow clone that smirked.

Jiraiya nodded, "Good. Gaara."

Gaara did the same, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)." His clone had its arms crossed looking calm and composed.

"Good, Hinata your turn." Jiraiya turned to her.

Hinata nodded, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)!" her clone gave a shy smile.

Jiraiya nodded, "You guys are progressing a lot better than I thought. Dispel your clones because now we're going to go through weapon training."

The kids dispelled their clones and waited patiently for what they were about to do next.

Jiraiya brought out a scroll and summoned some kunai and shuriken for them to practice with, "You'll probably learn how to do this in the Academy but its best you learn now."

They nodded.

"Start off with shuriken first then move to kunai," Jiraiya told them, "For the shuriken training as well as the kunai training I want you guys to aim for those stumps from where your standing right now."

They nodded walking away from each other and standing in front of the stumps, Hinata was on the left side, Naruto in the middle, and Gaara on his right side. They had five shuriken's in their hands getting ready to throw them at Jiraiya's command.

"Alright, throw!"

They threw the shuriken at the stumps with quick precision impressing Jiraiya who thought they'd at least have some trouble but they proved him wrong, _'These kids are amazing. I figured Naruto's chakra would be stable enough for him to use since I unsealed it, but Gaara and Hinata are having no problems at all.'_

"Alright, that's enough!" Jiraiya called out to them to stop.

They stopped and looked at him wondering what he wanted them to do next.

"Now with kunai!"

They nodded.

They threw the kunai with quick precision just like they did with the shuriken impressing the white haired man who believed they would be fine ninja in the future. After about five minutes they stopped under Jiraiya's command, "Good job, now we'll do something even more advanced known as…Nature Transformation."

"Nature transformation?" Hinata blinked.

"That's right, this is also an advanced form of chakra control that allows you to mould and defines the nature of one's chakra altering the properties characteristics for use of techniques." Jiraiya explained.

"So basically if there's an element we're good at the most we can use it for special techniques?" Naruto theorized.

"You got it, but it's much more complex than that," Jiraiya said, "There are five basic natures, here's something to help you remember better. The Five Great Shinobi Countries is named after one of the five with each element being stronger and weaker than another. The five elements are Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water. This will give you an advantage in battle and will take your enemy off guard when you do elemental basic attacks, Like Lightning Release, Fire Release, Wind Release, Water Release, and Earth Release."

Hinata was impressed by this information, "Oh wow, I had no idea there was so much to this."

"Me neither." Gaara agreed with her.

Jiraiya got out three pieces of paper and handed them towards the kids to take which they did, "This is a special kind of paper known as Chakra Induction Paper, when this paper comes in contact with the user's chakra it will react to that user's element. If your element is Fire it will ignite and turn to ash, if your element is Wind it will split the paper in two, if your element is Lightning it will wrinkle, if your element is Earth it will turn to dirt and crumble away, if your element is Water it will become wet and damp. Shinobi can also have more than one nature element, Jonin commonly have two but what's more uncommon is for a shinobi to have all five natures, except for the Hokage's but their on a whole different level."

"Wow…" Naruto said.

"You can also create a whole new element by combining one or two with each other, for example the Hyōton (Ice Release) is created by combining Water and Wind, Mokuton (Wood Release) is created by combining Earth and Water, Yōton (Lava Release) is created by combining Fire and Earth, Ranton (Storm Release) is created by combining Lightning and Water, Futton (Boil Release) is created by combining Water and Fire, Jinton (Dust Release) is created by combining Fire, Earth, and Water, Bakuton (Explosion Release) is created by combining Earth and Lightning, Shakuton (Scorch Release) is created by combining Fire and Wind, and Jiton (Magnet Release) is created by combining Wind and Earth." Jiraiya explained.

"Th-That's a lot." Hinata said what everyone was thinking.

"Now then, I want you all to focus your chakra on the paper in your hands." Jiraiya told them.

The kids nodded and closed their eyes concentrating on the piece of paper in front of them. They waited until they finally got the results they wanted.

Naruto's paper split in two.

Gaara's paper became dirt and crumbled away.

Hinata's paper ignited and turned to ash.

They all opened their eyes seeing the papers in their hands identified the elements that suited them the most. Needless to say, they were quite surprised.

"No way…I can use the Wind element?" Naruto stared.

"Mine is Earth." Gaara was just as surprised.

"A-And mines Fire." Hinata was surprised she got the fire element.

"Huh, I always thought Water suited you more." Naruto commented.

Gaara simply nodded in agreement.

Hinata blushed, "Th-Thank you…"

Jiraiya smirked, "Those element's are impressive actually, I wouldn't be surprised if you kids manage to combine your elements."

They all smiled.

Jiraiya brought out two scrolls for Naruto and Gaara, "These are for the two of you, Naruto these are your clans jutsu's and Gaara the old man said Yashamaru was carrying some sand jutsu's for you to train with including Iron and Gold Dust."

Gaara stiffened knowing that the gold dust jutsu belonged to his father but shook his head and gave the man a determined look.

"Now Hinata, I don't have anything for you I'm afraid." Jiraiya said regretfully.

Hinata didn't look too disheartened by it though and simply smiled, "It's okay! I can still train!"

The man was taken back but smiled anyway, "Well alright then, I want you three to separate yourselves and focus on practicing you individual jutsu's until I call "Time," got it?"

They nodded.

"Then get going!" Jiraiya told them making the three kids disappear in a flash.

He smirked, "Wonder how far they'll come?"

 **With Naruto**

Naruto stared at the sealing scroll from his clan, it was interesting now that he thought about it but it's also the reason why they were wiped out in the first place. He didn't let that get that to him though and decided to practice it anyway, okay let's try it out then. There was one that said "Element Seal," so let's try that one.

Naruto stood up and remembered that his element was the wind element so maybe he could start off using a wind attack and then seal it up in case he had to use it against and enemy. Yeah that'll work.

"Okay," Naruto said getting ready and clasped his hand together, "Fūton: Tatsumaki (Wind Release: Tornado)!" he generated wind from his hands and three tornadoes were surrounding him, "Now!" he made the hand seals: **Rat → Bird → Wind Seal → Tiger** , "Fūinjutsu: Fūka Kaze (Sealing Jutsu: Wind Seal)!" slamming his hand down on the seal it made the kanji for "wind," and absorbed the three wind tornadoes around him, when that was done he rolled up the scroll and smiled, "I did it…"

Naruto couldn't believe it actually worked, now what else can he try?

 **With Hinata**

Hinata had her Byakugan activated and was currently training her family's fighting style not wanting to be a burden to Naruto and Gaara. She wanted to prove to them that she was strong enough to stand by their side and can count on her when the time comes. Stopping for a bit she closed her eyes and remembered the time she saw Neji practicing the Trigrams technique. She took a deep breath and got into her very own stance and the green ying-yang seal appeared below her and focused on the tree before her, "Jūkenhō: Hakke Jūroku Shō (Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms)!" she attacked the tree, "Eight Trigrams 2 palms, 4 palms, 8 palms, 16 palms!" she finally finished the jutsu and was panting.

 _'_ _16 is my limit for now, but I want to keep going! I won't quit until I can stand by Naruto-kun's side!'_ She thought determinedly.

 **With Gaara**

Gaara was looking through some old sand jutsu's that were used by the previous Kazekage and the current one, he refused to be intimidated by his father anymore. He refuses to feel fear ever again because now he has someone to protect, and that someone is Naruto. He had the Sand Gourd strapped to his back and turned towards the tree before him and lifted his hand, "Sabaku Kyū (Sand Coffin)." The sand started to gather around the tree and he decided to make it hover in the air even though he had trouble he was determined to make the tree hover in the air no matter what! As if responding to his will the sand managed to make the tree hover in the air. Gaara took a deep breath, "Sabaku Sōsō (Sand Burial)!" closing his hand the tree exploded and some bark came falling down but because the sand protects him automatically the tree barks didn't fall on him. The sand dissipated and he smiled, "Mother…for the first time in my life, I have someone that I want to protect."

* * *

Jiraiya yawned as he heard many sounds around him and knew the kids were testing out their new jutsu's. These kids were determined to prove themselves and something told him that when they get older everyone will see just how strong these kids really are. After about five minutes Jiraiya yelled, "TIME!" and just like that the noises around him stopped, "Impressive." He saw the kids run towards him and saw their clothes were kinds dirty, "Were you kids fighting each other?"

"No, but I was practicing both my element and sealing jutsu's and I think I've got the hang of it." Naruto said.

"Same here." Gaara smiled.

"I'm going to keep practicing so I can do my best!" Hinata said with determination.

Jiraiya grinned, "Good to hear, now time to eat!" he brought out a scroll and their food instantly appeared. They were all ramen!

Naruto and Gaara were practically drooling and Hinata looked happy to have some herself.

He chuckled these kids were just too damn funny.

* * *

Hiruzen sighed as he went through the bane of all Kage's existences. Paperwork! Why oh why was there so much paperwork? Maybe he should just retire. There was a knock on the door, "Come in!" he called out. Tsunade entered his office seeing the look on his face almost made her laugh.

"Paperwork?" he smirked.

He sighed.

"I've been meaning to ask you for some time now, but has the Kazekage demand anything? Like why you took Gaara out of the village?" Tsunade questioned with a hint of worry.

Hiruzen gave her a serious look, "Since your bringing it up, no he didn't. I haven't received a single letter or a threat of declaring war from the Kazekage. I don't know if that's a good thing or not."

"No kidding, but Gaara's not exactly eager to go back home anyway." Tsunade told him moving towards the window looking down at the village.

"Perhaps he knew Yashamaru, Gaara's uncle would betray him and ask me to take the boy away from Sunagakure." He theorized.

"Maybe…" Tsunade stared off in the distance for some reason she had a feeling Sunagakure would be causing trouble in the future.

* * *

"Keep going!" Jiraiya ordered.

Naruto and Gaara came at each other again meeting blow for blow not holding back. They were practicing Taijutsu this time and Jiraiya was adamant about them fighting each other with the intent to kill otherwise they'll leave themselves open for an enemy ninja to attack them. Currently Naruto and Gaara were sparring with each other and occasionally Gaara's sand would protect him on its own so that could come as an advantage in case someone tried to literally stab him in the back. Just as Naruto was about to land a blow to the red heads head with a kick Jiraiya told them to stop making his leg freeze from hitting the red head in the face at the last minute.

Naruto smirked, "Not bad, Gaara."

"You too." Gaara smirked back.

"Alright you two, good work. Hinata, you and Naruto are sparring this time." Jiraiya said.

Hinata was hesitant she didn't want to hut Naruto but she knew she had to get rid of this hesitation of hers so she got and stood opposite of Naruto who looked ready. She closed her eyes calming herself but soon opened them back up her Byakugan activated.

Jiraiya nodded his head in approval, _'Hinata hesitates when she fights which gives her enemies an advantage. Sparring with Naruto is the only way for her to stop her hesitation, and then there's her personality. There's nothing wrong with it, but we need to find a way to use her kind nature to her advantage while it takes her enemies off guard.'_ He saw the kids were ready and wasted no time, "Start!"

Naruto and Hinata came at each other sending punches and kicks or in Hinata's case her clan's fighting style. Jiraiya saw that the girl didn't hesitate in her blows, which was a good sign, which means she can train with a comrade without feeling guilty. Hinata used her Byakugan to see Naruto's chakra points and tried to hit them but Naruto was faster and jumped back. He smirked and she smiled. Time to get serious then. Naruto's fists were incased in chakra taking Jiraiya by surprise.

 _'_ _He incased his fists with chakra? Did he learn that from Tsunade?'_ Jiraiya wondered.

Hinata's hands were incased in blue fire that made Jiraiya's eyes widen.

 _'_ _She's using her fire element to surround her hands?! And she has control over it already?'_ he thought.

They both charged at each other, "Funsai Ken (Crushing Fist)!" Naruto sent his chakra-incased fist at her.

"Jūkenhō (Gentle Fist)!" Hinata sent her fire-incased palm at him.

"Stop!" Jiraiya announced making both children stop in their tracks just inches from each other. Naruto and Hinata stood straight and smile at each other.

"Hinata, your amazing." Naruto smiled.

She blushed with a smile, "You too, Naruto-kun."

Gaara approached them as did Jiraiya, "You two had me worried there for a second, you two were so focused you forgot about your surroundings."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "My bad."

"I'm sorry." Hinata bowed apologetically.

He smirked, "Don't worry about it, that just means you kids are learning to defend yourselves should the situation need you to."

The kids talked amongst themselves while Jiraiya was in thought, _'There's no telling what these kids might go through in the future, but at least they'll stay by each other's side giving support whenever they need it. And that's all I can ask for.'_

* * *

 **Next Time: Prologue: Academy Days!**


	3. Prologue: Academy Days!

Sorry for the late update. I have been really depressed and just found the courage to write again. Here's another chapter.

* * *

Naruto had gotten up early on the day they were supposed to go back to the academy. He and his friends had trained all summer but did take a day off to rest their muscles and to just hang out with each other. Hinata was gaining more confidence, which made him and Gaara happy for they wanted her to have more confidence in herself and to ignore what other people say. Gaara had also improved with his sand so much that he was able to control it with no problems at all and even learn some new jutsu's just like he and Hinata did.

He opened the door to his room and walked out, as soon as he closed the door he felt a presence right behind him but didn't panic because he knew who it was, "Hey Gaara, you ready?"

Gaara nodded, "Hopefully it wont be boring."

Naruto simply smiled at his best friend and walked away with Gaara following right behind him. They came into the kitchen and saw Himeko had made them breakfast, "Hey there you two, excited with going back to school?"

Naruto simply shrugged, "I guess."

"Hopefully it won't be boring." Gaara repeated.

"You already said that." Naruto sat down and ate his breakfast. Well there was one good thing about this and that was being able to see Iruka-sensei and Hinata so it wasn't all that bad.

"I'm really excited," Himeko smiled washing the dishes, "I'll be there to pick you both up when school let's out, okay?"

"Got it, see you later Nee-chan," Naruto and Gaara got up from the kitchen table and walked out of the house leaving a smiling woman behind, "But…I do want him to make new friends though."

 **Academy Building**

Naruto and Gaara were the first to enter the classroom and found it empty, which was to be expected because it was early in the morning. The two boys sat in the back with Naruto sitting next to the window and Gaara sitting next to him.

"Wonder if Hinata will come in early too?" Naruto wondered out loud. He didn't hear Gaara respond which didn't bother him all that much.

"She's here." Gaara told him.

Naruto turned to him, "How do you…" he stopped talking when he saw his friend had one of his eyes closed, "Nevermind…"

Gaara smirked and opened his eye.

Hinata came in the classroom and immediately went over by Naruto and Gaara, "Good morning, Naruto-kun, Gaara-kun."

"Hey, kinda surprised to see you here early in the morning." Naruto commented.

She smiled, "I wanted to get a good seat so I came early," She sat her things down next to Gaara, "What would you guys like to do?"

Naruto brought out one of his scrolls, "We'll I'd like to talk about the new jutsu I've been trying to get right but for some reason I can't."

"Jutsu?" Gaara questioned.

"Yeah, it's called Rasengan. I've been trying to get it right for the past three days but can't seem to get it, I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Also, it turns out I just got lucky when I used Fūton for the first time because when I tried it again I was really exhausted." Naruto frowned.

"Actually, I'm having problems with the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four palms. I tried to go past Thirty-Two palms but couldn't seem to get it right, father didn't seem happy about it either." Hinata looked down sadly.

"When is he ever satisfied with anything?" Gaara stated.

"Gaara's right, your dad doesn't seem to care all that much about anything." Naruto agreed.

"I-I suppose." She confessed.

"For me, the problem I have is trying to control the Gold Dust technique. It's not as easy as the current Kazekage makes it out to be." Gaara confessed to his own problems referring to his father's Gold Dust sand.

"So all of us are having problems," Naruto stared out the window, "I'll ask Ero-sennin what I'm doing wrong, but I've been improving with my Fūinjutsu."

Gaara nodded, "I'm controlling my sand a lot better than before."

"Um, there's a new technique I've been practicing. W-Would you like to see it?" Hinata asked.

Naruto smiled, "Sure, we can see it after school. We'll go to the usual place, oh that's right Himeko-neechan's gonna pick us up after school. She can come with us."

"Naruto, what about your dōjutsu? Have you been practicing it?" Gaara asked.

The blonde gave him a serious look, "No, not yet. But I was thinking about it though, maybe I'll train with it tomorrow after school. The scrolls talk about the abilities the eyes have so I was thinking of practicing them tomorrow at the training grounds."

"I'll go with you." Gaara told him.

"M-Me too." Hinata wanted to give him her support.

"Thanks guys." Naruto smiled then stopped when he saw some kids finally walk in the classroom. The blonde can smile freely around Gaara and Hinata but the others? He found no reason to really. The kids in the class have given him and Gaara curious looks seeing the blonde was calm and the red haired kid next to him looked uninterested.

Iruka was walked in the classroom about 5 minutes later smiling at the blonde who gave a nod in return, "Welcome back class, hope you enjoyed your summer vacation because its time to get right down to business."

The class groaned.

Shikamaru put his head down on the desk, "Oh man, what a drag."

Choji ate his potato chips, "Can't be that bad."

"If you say so," Shikamaru looked over at Naruto noticing he was sitting next to Hinata Hyūga and some red haired kid he'd never seen before, "Wonder who that kid is?"

"Hm? You mean the one with the red hair? Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him around here before." Choji commented.

"Me neither." Shikamaru stared at the boy; he kept thinking there was just something about him.

Sakura and Ino were ogling Sasuke who was paying them no attention or believing they didn't exist at all. Sakura and Ino were glare at each other from time to time but making Shikamaru sigh and mumble, "Women…"

Iruka began lecturing about the Hidden Villages in different nations peaking Naruto's interest making him think back about what Jiraiya told him over the summer.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _"Bijū?" Naruto blinked._

 _Jiraiya nodded, "There are a total of nine Bijū's." You've got the Ichibi, the Nibi, the Sanbi, the Yonbi, the Gobi, the Rokubi, the Nanabi, the Hachibi, and the Kyūbi."_

 _Naruto touched his belly, "The Kyūbi…"_

 _"Gaara's the Ichibi host." Jiraiya informed._

 _Naruto closed his eyes, "Hey Ero-sennin, what's a Jinchūriki?"_

 _The man froze, "How do you…"_

 _"When me and Gaara were talking on the swings back in Sunagakure I overheard some adults call him a "Jinchūriki." Naruto explained._

 _The man sighed, "Jinchūriki means "Power of Human Sacrifice." That's what they call individuals who have a tailed beast sealed inside of them."_

 _"Power of Human Sacrifice…" Naruto frowned._

 _"Each village has someone who has a Tailed Beast sealed inside them, well except Sunagakure because Gaara's here in Konoha now. The Jinchūriki are treated as human weapons for the village instead of real people." Jiraiya confessed._

 _"I'm not a human weapon! And I won't let Gaara be one either!" Naruto stated fiercely._

 _"I know you won't," Jiraiya smiled, "Because of the large chakra control and difficulty controlling it the Jinchūriki are often hated and ostracized by their fellow villagers treating them no different than they would the Bijū they contain within themselves."_

 _Naruto looked down, 'So that's why they would always give me those hateful glares or sometimes ignore me and why Gaara was treated so badly back in his village.' He looked up at the man giving him a fierce look, "I don't care what they say, we're human beings not weapons. Also…I believe the Bijū didn't even as for this in the first place, not just us."_

 _Jiraiya raised a brow, "And why do you say that?"_

 _"Because I know it! Kyūbi isn't a weapon and neither is the Ichibi! When I thought I've been alone this whole time I realize that I wasn't because the Kyūbi's been with me the whole time watching out for me. And I just know the Ichibi's been looking out for Gaara too!" Naruto smiled._

 _Jiraiya couldn't help but chuckle, "Your one of a kind Naruto. But there's something I want to ask you."_

 _"What is it?"_

 _"Do you hate the village?" he asked seriously._

 _"I don't." Naruto answered immediately taking Jiraiya by surprise, "I don't hate them because there are people here in the village I want to protect. The people that accepted me don't see me as a demon but as a person and I care about their opinions the most."_

 _Jiraiya blinked, 'This whole time I thought he wouldn't understand even if I told him. Naruto's seen to much hatred for his age.'_

 _"Hey, do the other villages have their own Jinchūriki?" Naruto asked._

 _"Yeah, Sunagakure doesn't have one anymore like I told you because Gaara's here living in Konoha now. Kumogakure has two just like Konohagakure does now, they have the Nibi and Hachibi, Kirigakure has two the Sanbi and Rokubi, Iwagakure has two the Yonbi and Gobi, and Takigakure has the Nanabi." Jiraiya explained._

 _"Wow, so the only village that doesn't have two is Takigakure?" Naruto questioned._

 _"Pretty much." The man shrugged._

 _Naruto wondered how they were handling being in their villages._

 **Now**

Naruto was listening to Iruka as he talked about Kumogakure and saw Hinata flinch a little when he talked about them and made a mental note to ask her about it later. After the lesson was over Iruka told everyone to go to the training area to do some Taijutsu practices and to pair up if they wanted to. Naruto watched everyone get up and leave but Gaara and Hinata stayed behind a little bit along with Naruto.

The blonde finally got up, "You guys ready?"

Hinata gave him a determined look, "Yes! I've been practicing at home when no one's watching."

Gaara nodded and stood up following his two friends out the door to do some Taijutsu practices. They may have practiced over the summer but they still wanted to practice.

 **Training Area**

The class was currently outside waiting for Iruka to give them the signal to start their Taijutsu training. Naruto, Hinata, and Gaara were standing behind everyone else.

"Alright everyone you can either pair up and spar with each other or simply work on your own with the logs before you." Iruka told them.

The class started to disperse while Naruto looked at his friends, "So what do you guys wanna do?"

"You and me can spar with each other if you want?" Gaara suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Naruto shrugged, "What about you Hinata?"

"U-Um, I'll just watch the two of you spar if you don't mind?" Hinata wondered.

"That's fine." Naruto said as he and Gaara got into position.

Shikamaru was leaning against a wall with Choji standing right next to him eating his potato chips, "Man this is such a drag."

"Yeah." Choji agreed eating a potato chip.

Shikamaru watched as Sasuke easily took down another student making Sakura, Ino and the other girls fawn over him but the raven-haired boy didn't seem to care one bit. He then turned his attention towards Naruto and Gaara and almost had his jaw drop and hit the floor. Naruto and Gaara were currently having their own sparring session ignoring their surroundings; Gaara sent a kick at Naruto who blocked it and sent his own but Gaara blocked that too. Both boys separated from each other still ignoring their surroundings unaware that they were being watched by Iruka, Shikamaru, Choji, hell even Sasuke was watching them.

They came at each other again sending punches kicks and even flipping in the air a few times trying to land at least one hit on each other, Naruto kicked Gaara sending him back a little but his sand protected him from the hard kick taking everyone by surprise including Iruka.

"Sand?" Iruka mumbled.

Gaara grit his teeth, "I need to work on not having my sand protect me while doing hand to hand combat."

"Its not a bad thing Gaara," Naruto said walking over to him, "You can still fight and use your sand at the same time, if someone tries to hit you from behind it'll keep you safe."

Gaara sighed, "If you say so, but I still want to improve on it a bit more."

"We can work on it when its time to go home if you want?" Naruto suggested.

"That'd be nice."

Hinata came towards them, "Watching you two fight is always amazing."

"Thanks, you wanna tag in?" Naruto questioned.

Before she could say yes another kid got in the blondes face, "That was amazing! Please spar with me!" the boy bowed.

Naruto gave him a deadpanned stare as did Gaara but Hinata looked nervous.

"Uh…" Naruto said.

"I am Rock Lee, and even if I cannot use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu I can still use Taijutsu! Watching your sparring match has ignited a youthful passion within me! Please spar with me!" Lee got in Naruto's face making the blonde back up a little.

Naruto's eye twitched, _'What should I do? Say yes?'_

Gaara looked annoyed and was about to use his sand on the boy but Naruto intervened before he could do anything, "Uh…sure…"

Lee's face brightened up and he bowed, "Thank you very much!"

Naruto looked over at Hinata giving her an apologetic smile, "Sorry Hinata."

She shook her head, "It's okay, I'll just spar with Gaara-kun."

Gaara was still giving Lee an annoyed look but sighed giving Hinata a nod in return.

Naruto pat Gaara on the shoulder, "Don't look so annoyed, we can always spar later."

Gaara nodded, "Right."

Naruto and Lee got into position facing each other Lee had already taken his Taijutsu stance, the one Gai taught him. Naruto didn't take a stance standing completely still but knew not to underestimate anyone. Ero-sennin taught him that the hard way. As soon as a leaf from a tree fell to the ground Lee came at Naruto sending a kick aiming for his head but the blonde grabbed his leg and swung him around and away from him. Lee flipped in the air landing perfectly on his feet coming at the blonde again sending a punch this time but Naruto blocked it sending his own punch which Lee blocked himself. Both of them jumped away then charged at each other sending fast punches and kicks blocking them as they did so making the whole class watch them. Lee sent another punch at the blonde who grabbed his arm and pinned the boy to the ground ending their sparring match.

Naruto got up, "Your really good at Taijutsu."

Lee sat up quickly, "Do you really mean that?!"

The blonde shrugged, "Yeah," He walked away not seeing the bow Lee gave him while also ignoring the looks from everyone else including Iruka and went over to see Hinata was panting a little while Gaara only looked a little tired, "All done?"

Gaara nodded, "It was nice to spar with Hinata."

She blushed at the compliment, "Th-Thank you, Gaara-kun."

Gaara nodded, "But…now I'm bored."

Naruto deadpanned while Shikamaru and Choji sweat-dropped, "What else is new?"

Iruka gave Naruto a worried gaze because his it seems his personalities completely changed from what it use to be, _'Naruto, what happened?'_

* * *

With the Taijutsu class over they practiced their weaponry practice next first starting out with shuriken. Iruka instructed them to practice their shuriken throw by having throw them at the logs and to try and hit the bull's eye if they could.

Naruto and Gaara were throwing their shuriken's at the logs just like everybody else, while also talking at the same time.

"Gaara, do you miss your village?" Naruto asked out of curiosity tossing a shuriken at the log hitting the red dot in the middle of the target.

Gaara didn't stop throwing his shuriken at the log, "A little, but that's because I miss my siblings…and Yashamaru."

"Siblings? I didn't know you had siblings." Naruto said.

Gaara nodded, "And older sister and brother, their names are Temari and Kankuro."

"I see."

"Naruto, when Hokage-sama told me that Yashamaru really did love me…it made me really happy." Gaara confessed.

Naruto didn't say anything because he could tell.

"He really loved me and asked Hokage-sama to take me away so I could be happy," Gaara turned to the blonde, "I'm really glad you came to my village and talked to me. I'm really glad you're my friend."

The blonde showed a small smile that got Shikamaru's attention making him raise a brow, _'Did something happen?'_

Sasuke stopped throwing his shuriken and looked over at the two boys eyeing Naruto specifically seeing the blonde's changed personality and for some reason he found himself curious of the change.

Iruka was worried, he was happy that Naruto's improved over the summer but still…he couldn't help but feel worried. He made a mental note to ask the boy what happened later. Then there was that red haired boy with him who manipulates sand, could he be from Sunagakure? Did Hokage-sama bring him here? So many questions that he wanted to be answered.

* * *

Lunchtime came so Naruto, Hinata, and Gaara were eating outside instead of in the class with everyone else. Hinata had a homemade bento while Naruto had brought out two bowls of ramen, one for him and one for Gaara.

"Naruto."

The blonde slightly turned his head to the side and saw Shikamaru walking over with Choji following right behind him.

"Hey Shikamaru." Naruto greeted then unwrapped his bowl of ramen as did Gaara.

"I-Is there something wrong?" Hinata stuttered.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head, "Well, I wouldn't say there's anything wrong…"

Naruto had already started eating his lunch as was Gaara.

Shikamaru took a deep breath and gave the blonde a serious look, "Naruto, what's wrong?"

Choji knew his best friend was going to ask sooner or later, he just wasn't expecting it to be now.

Naruto stopped eating and looked at him, "What do you mean?"

Shikamaru looked directly in the blonde's eyes and definitely felt something was different, "No…its nothing." He sat down on the ground right along with Choji.

Gaara took out some soy sauce he had hidden in his breast pocket making Naruto give him a deadpanned look, "Gaara…where did you get the soy sauce?"

"Himeko-san bought it for me." He stated bluntly.

"You…" Naruto rubbed his temples.

Shikamaru and Choji were confused as to why it was such a big deal until they saw the red head pour the whole content onto the bowl of ramen and began to eat it with a satisfied look on his face. Choji just stared at the red head but Shikamaru looked at Naruto demanding for an explanation, the blonde merely shook his head and continued eating.

Maybe he should start having his older sister stop buying Gaara the soy sauce.

Lunch was soon over and the kids were right back in class listening to Iruka lecture about the different nations and its leaders, after that he assigned homework to the students, which was a written assignment and dismissed class. Naruto, Gaara, and Hinata left immediately before Iruka could even call out to the blonde for him to stay a little bit, but there was always Ichiraku.

* * *

Hinata decided to wait for Himeko along with her two friends. They were headed towards the gate where they saw Himeko waiting for them waving with a smile on her face. They went over to her and she grabbed Naruto and Gaara's hands ignoring the looks the woman was getting from the parents of the other children, Himeko didn't care about the villagers one bit and if they so much as try to harm a member of her family she'll slaughter them without a second thought. The Uzumaki clan don't take kindly to those who hurt their kin or their friends. Naruto and Gaara told her that they wanted to go to their training place, which she agreed to and took them there so they could train.

They arrived at the training place they've been using all summer and decided to watch Naruto try out Rasengan again. He took out a water balloon from one of his scrolls and held his hand out with the water balloon in the palm of his hand. He began trying to burst the water balloon by rotating his chakra with immense concentration.

Himeko sat down on the ground along with Hinata and Gaara observing the blonde as he was trying to pop the balloon.

Himeko sighed, "When did you get here?"

"Just now." Jiraiya announced making Hinata and Gaara jump, they didn't even sense him until just now but Himeko was able to. Amazing.

"What is he doing wrong?" she questioned.

Jiraiya stared at the blonde who made the water balloon move but not pop at all, "He's rotating it to the left when that's not the direction his chakra flows."

"So it flows to the right then, interesting." Himeko looked back over to her nephew.

"Does it matter which direction where your chakra flows?" Gaara questioned.

"It does actually," Jiraiya responded, "See a good way to build up chakra in the body is to spin it into a tight spiral like a spring. Whether the chakra's spins to the left or the right depends on the individual. Some people are left rotation types, some are right, since he's spinning the water balloon on the opposite direction from his natural rotation type his chakra's just counteracting itself."

"I didn't know that." Hinata blinked.

"Most ninja in training figure it out eventually and so will Naruto, just you wait." Himeko grinned.

Meanwhile Naruto was trying to figure out why he wasn't able to pop the water balloon, _'I'm getting it to move but not pop, rotating it isn't as easy as Ero-sennin made it out to be.'_ And idea then struck him, _'Wait a minute!'_ he lifted the water balloon up again and this time instead of rotating the chakra inside the water balloon to the left he decided to rotate it to the right and as soon as he did the water balloon exploded in the palm of his hand, "I-I did it."

"That you did," Jiraiya said approaching him, "Congratulations you passed the first step, now onto the second."

"Right." Naruto nodded.

Jiraiya held up a rubber ball giving it to the confused blonde and pulled out another one holding it before him, "Let's see if you can pop this one." the rubber balloon became more bumpy as it went wild in the mans hand and practically exploded taking the blonde off guard, "And let me tell you it's a lot harder than popping a water balloon."

Naruto nodded silently.

Gaara and Hinata couldn't believe what they saw, "W-Wow…that was amazing." Hinata complimented.

Gaara nodded, "It really does look hard to do though, but Naruto can do it."

Himeko smiled at the two children, _'These two will also grow strong and continue to grow stronger.'_

"You've got the first step down, which is rotation but this one requires force," Jiraiya explained, "But this object is solid, there's no water inside so its far more difficult to exert your chakra rotation on it."

"It looks hard," Naruto stared at the rubber ball, "Can I really do it?"

"I know you can, but you'll be in a lot of pain." Jiraiya told him seriously.

Naruto chuckled dryly, "I'm used to it."

Hinata looked down sadly, while Jiraiya, Gaara, and Himeko looked ready to kill someone.

"Don't make that face, you look scary." Naruto joked.

Jiraiya simply chuckled and rubbed the boy's head then walked over towards Himeko and the kids watching the blonde try and do what Jiraiya did but with two hands.

Naruto held the rubber ball in one hand and started to move his other hand around the rubber balloon moving it around rapidly his whole body was surrounded with his chakra as he moved his hand that was around the rubber ball rapidly spinning it around as he focused all of his energy on making it pop while ignoring the pain he was starting to fell in his hands, _'Heh…he's right, this is painful! But…I've been through much worse than this!'_ he endured the pain as the rubber ball began to spin out of control until finally it popped practically exploding sending the blonde backwards but Gaara's sand caught him before he could slam into the trees behind him. Gaara had the sand bring his friend gently down to the ground where he and Hinata were hovering above him with worried expressions. The blonde opened his eyes weakly, "Hey…looks like I completed the second step…but he was right…that was freaking painful…"

Hinata smiled weakly, "Yes, I suppose so."

Gaara stared at Naruto's hands and winced internally, _'It looks painful, but knowing Naruto he'll ignore this and continue training.'_

Naruto sat up slowly facing Jiraiya who appeared in his view, "So…what's the last step?"

Jiraiya bent down, "I think you should take a break for awhile, your hands could use it. Also, why don't we let Hinata and Gaara show us what their having trouble with before we practice Rasengan again, alright?"

Naruto nodded weakly and laid back down on the sand, "Hey Gaara…your sands really soft."

Gaara smiled.

Jiraiya chuckled and looked over at Himeko who stood up, "Hinata-chan, you said you were having problems as well?"

Hinata blushed with embarrassment, "I'm trying to complete the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, but I can only manage to get to Thirty-Two Palms."

"I see," Himeko brought her finger up to her chin, "Okay, you and me will have a sparring match and I want you to take it very seriously Hinata, no hesitating because I won't hold back."

Hinata stood straight, "Y-Yes ma'am!"

"Good." Himeko moved over by the logs as did Hinata they were facing each other. Jiraiya sat down next to the sand near his godson and his friends as they prepared to watch the girls have their spar, "Okay Hinata are you ready?"

Hinata activated her Byakugan and got into her stance, "Y-Yes!"

"Good." Himeko's hands were surrounded with her chakra as she came at Hinata quickly taking the small girl by surprise and just barely got out of the way when the older woman sent a punch at her that made a huge crater in the ground.

Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh, "Hopefully she wont kill the girl."

"Hinata will be fine, I believe in her." Naruto said sitting up slowly looking at his older sister and friend spar.

Gaara nodded in agreement, "Hm."

Hinata came at Himeko matching the woman with her chakra encased fists but the difference between them was too great and the girl was sent flying away from the woman hitting the ground hard.

"Hinata!" Naruto was about to go over to the girl but she stopped him.

"No!" Hinata yelled stopping the blonde from going over to her, "I'm okay! Please don't interfere!"

"Hinata…" Naruto could only stare at her seeing her eyes were the same as his. Burning with determination. He had no choice but to back off and watch as the girl got up slowly getting back into her stance.

"Let's continue please!" Hinata said with determination.

Himeko smiled at the girl's determined spirit, "Then let's continue!" she came at the little girl again and Hinata was determined to not disappoint Naruto, the person whose opinion she cared about the most. Hinata was doing a pretty good job at dodging the woman's attacks not wanting to get hit again waiting for the perfect opening so she could use her trademark move and hopefully make it to Sixty-Four Palms. Keeping her eyes focused on her opponent she finally found the opening she was looking for and got into the Juken stance, "Jūkenhō: Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)!" she hit the woman's chakra points.

"Two Palms!"

"Four Palms!"

"Eight Palms!"

"Sixteen Palms!"

"Thirty-Two Palms!" she could feel herself at her limit but she refused to stop at thirty-two palms and pushed to the limit, "Sixty-Four Palms!" she sent the red headed woman back.

"She did it!" Naruto smiled.

"She made it to sixty-four." Gaara smiled himself.

"I'd say she pushed herself passed her limit by sheer willpower alone." Jiraiya grinned.

Hinata was panting seeing the woman was on he ground unmoving only to be surprised that she was replaced with a log, _'Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Jutsu)?! When did she make the switch?'_ she felt herself fall backwards only to be caught by Naruto before she could hit the ground _._

"Your amazing, Hinata." Naruto said softly.

Hinata blushed crimson red and stood up automatically, "Th-Thank you…Naruto-kun."

Himeko giggled appearing next to Jiraiya, "They are just so cute~ I can't wait for them to get married~"

"Don't you think your rushing them a bit? Their just kids." Jiraiya said.

She turned to him slowly smiling the whole time, "I'm sorry did you say something?"

Jiraiya could feel her killing intent and it was as scary as Kushina's if that was even possible, "N-No ma'am!"

"That's what I thought."

Naruto and Hinata walked back over to them and Gaara stared up at Jiraiya, "Do you know of a method to controlling Gold Dust?"

Jiraiya thought about it, "From what I understand, Gold Sand is difficult because it uses magnetic properties. It's possible that it's a kekkei genkai meaning you'll be able to master it eventually, just keep training."

Gaara nodded with determination.

Himeko smiled, "Alright children why don't we head home now, Hinata do you want me to take you home?"

"U-Um, if its okay with you I'd like to spend the night if that's okay?" Hinata asked hesitantly.

Himeko squealed at the girl's cuteness and hugged her, "You are just way too cute! Of course you spend the night you little cutie!"

Jiraiya sweat-dropped, "You might wanna let the girl go, she looks like she can't breath."

"Oh! Sorry!" Himeko let Hinata go the girl's head spinning back and forth.

 _'_ _Never a dull moment.'_ Jiraiya commented.

* * *

It was starting to get on his nerves.

There aren't many things that can annoy Gaara, but the kids at the Academy were really starting to get on his nerves. The red head saw some boys trying to bully Naruto but the blonde merely ignored them and walked away preferring not to start any conflict but they decided to charge at him anyway from behind so the blonde retaliated by sending an elbow to the gut to one of them, tripping the other and for the last one he just chopped the back of their neck rendering him unconscious. He saw the blonde sigh and walk over to him, "Hey Gaara, sorry to keep you waiting."

"It's fine." Gaara smiled. Both boys left the training area but the red head looked behind him and saw one of the boys glare at Naruto from behind. Gaara made a mental note to deal with them later.

There was something else that irritated Gaara only a little bit, and that was Sasuke Uchiha the last of the Uchiha clan. For some reason he would give the blonde a side glance but only Gaara noticed it, Naruto didn't. Currently the blonde was talking happily with Hinata who would blush a little but looked like she was enjoying herself making him smile, these two just seem to fit each other. But he was getting off track, it wasn't just that Sasuke would glance over in Naruto's direction in the classroom but outside as well almost like he was observing him trying to see his abilities making Gaara slightly nervous. He didn't know why he was getting such a bad feeling from the boy but he didn't like it one bit, hopefully he was just overthinking things. Hopefully.

It was lunch time and Gaara, Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and Shino were outside with them. Gaara had met Kiba when Naruto treated the little dog's injury when the little dog got hurt by some kids who were trying to start something with Kiba. As for Shino, Naruto had almost stepped on one of his bugs but Shino came out of nowhere stopping him just in time. Naruto apologized for almost hurting one of his insects and the bug boy accepted. Shino's been with them ever since.

Gaara had already finished eating his lunch much to Kiba's horror and Shino's fascination. They have witnessed Gaara's soy sauce addiction even though the red head denied it. Gaara felt they were being watched and stood up.

"Bathroom?" Naruto questioned.

Gaara nodded, "I'll be right back." And with that he walked off to the other side of the building.

No mercy.

Gaara didn't walk inside the building instead heading over to the forest part of the building, "Come out." The bushes rustled and out came the same three boys that tried to hurt his best friend.

"Heh, it's just the wimp." One of them sneered.

"Yeah but he's that loser's best friend."

"Meaning we can rough him up teaching that loser a lesson in not to mess with us."

Gaara glared, "I suggest you leave now."

The boys didn't take his threat seriously because they approached the red haired boy who simply surrounded himself with sand taking them by surprise making them stop in their tracks, "I told you to leave, but you didn't. Too bad for you," The sand moved around him and the bullies backed away slowly but Gaara wouldn't have any of that and had the sand grab each of them trapping them in their own sand coffins, "You have two options, One: Never bother Naruto again. Two: Disappear and never be heard from again. Your choice."

The leader of the bullies nodded to the first option with tears in his eyes making Gaara scoff and drop him along with his buddies, "Get lost." He said coldly and they took off running.

Gaara sighed, "You can come out now…Shikamaru."

Shikamaru came out from behind the building, "You knew I was here the whole time?"

"I did." Gaara said.

Shikamaru approached the boy, "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes." Gaara answered immediately.

Shikamaru had only spoken to Gaara few times and knew he was very loyal friend to Naruto just like Choji was a very loyal friend to him, but didn't think he'd do something like threaten someone's life. He didn't judge though because he knew Gaara was only doing it for the blonde's sake but still.

"If you had killed them Naruto wouldn't be happy." Shikamaru stated.

Gaara said nothing but knew Shikamaru was right, "I know. Naruto is important to me, and I don't want to make him sad. However, I will eliminate anything I perceive as a threat without mercy."

Shikamaru could tell he was serious about what he said and sighed, "Troublesome. Something tells me Naruto feels the same when it comes to you and Hinata."

Gaara walked past him, "He feels the same with you all too."

Shikamaru turned his head towards the red heads retreating figure and sighed then smiled a little, "Troublesome."

* * *

Naruto blinked a few times.

He went home and passed out on his bed after finally getting Rasengan right but not without hurting his hands again, god was Hinata scared that he may have permanently damaged his hands but he told her repeatedly he was okay calming her down a little. Gaara was just as concerned knowing that he pushed himself a little too far but the blonde reassured his friends that he was fine. After that he and Gaara walked home with the blonde a little wobbly but Gaara hovered around him in case he passed out on his feet. They made it home with the blonde passing out as soon as his head hit the pillow and now he found himself in a strange place. There was water on the floor he noticed and looking around he saw the place looked like an underground sewer or something.

"This is weird…it feels like I've been here before…" Naruto started walking forward while still looking around, "I remember this…there was something else here, something big…" he kept walking until he finally arrived to his destination and boy did he get a surprise. Staring right at him was a giant cage that held a giant orange fox that grinned at him.

 **"** **Haven't seen you in a while."** The fox grinned.

Now the normal person would be scarred or feel overwhelmed in this situation but Naruto wasn't normal, instead of feeling fear he felt amazed, "Your…the Kyūbi."

The fox kept his grin, **"Heh, I was expecting you to feel fear but I forgot this is the same brat that came here before and simply fell asleep on me."**

Naruto blinked at that information and tilted his head slightly, "So I did come here before, no wonder everything looked so familiar. I can't remember though."

 **"** **You first came here when you were three, no matter what I did you just wouldn't leave** **and even slept on me. Cheeky brat."** The fox scowled a little.

Naruto let his curiosity get the better of him and walked towards the giant cage slipping through it easily because of his small form.

Kyūbi observed him curiously, **"Oi, what are you doing?"**

Naruto looked up at the fox then went near his side rubbing his fur taking the fox off guard, "Soft…"

Kyūbi had to sweat-drop at this, **_'Brat hasn't changed one bit.'_**

Naruto rubbed his cheek against the fox's fur surprising the fox even more especially when the boy chuckled, "I remember now…I fell asleep on you right here. I remember it because it felt so warm."

Kyūbi scoffed, **"I should eat you for saying that."**

Naruto just chuckled, "You know what?"

Kyūbi grunted.

"This whole time when I thought I was alone I was wrong, I wasn't alone because you were here the whole time," Naruto smiled, "So thanks."

 **"** **Hmph, I don't need to be thanked by you."** Kyūbi scoffed.

Naruto simply smiled, "Your weird."

 **"** **Pot calling the kettle black."** Kyūbi shot back.

"Maybe," Naruto didn't deny the accusation, "Hey, do you know about the Rinnegan?"

That got the Kyūbi's attention, **"Just now…what did you say?"**

Naruto got up from the fox's side and stood before him closing his eyes then opened them back up revealing the Rinnegan, "This."

Kyūbi stared at the boy in complete and utter shock, **_'He has the same eyes as the old man! Then he's…'_**

Naruto made his eyes go back to normal then stared right at the fox's red eyes, "What's wrong?"

Kyūbi got out of his thoughts and answered his host, **"Listen well brat, those eyes of yours used to be wielded by the old man. Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki."**

Naruto recognized the name instantly, "Hagoromo-jiji…"

 **"** **The old man was also the first Jinchūriki as well as a Sage. Those eyes were wielded among the Ōtsutsuki clan, but soon were used by the Uzumaki clan who were direct descendants of the old man, making you one as well."** Kyūbi informed.

That took the young boy by surprise, "You mean I'm a descendant of Hagoromo-jiji?"

 **"** **That's right, the old man was something else when he was alive. He went by many names, "Rikudō Sennin (Sage of Six Paths), "Shinobi no Kami (God of Shinobi), Kono Yo no Kyūseishu (Savior of this World), the list goes on. He also created us, the Bijū as well as have a Kekkei Genkai known as "Onmyōton (Yin-Yang Release)."** Kyūbi explained.

"Onmyōton…" Naruto said.

 **"** **It's a non elemental technique, the old man was master of it and created things from nothing while also breathing life into** **his creations. It's faint but I can sense you're able to use it yourself."**

Naruto felt a little happy knowing about that, "Oh, what about the Rinnegan? Does it have any abilities like Hinata's Byakugan?"

 **"** **The Rinnegan uses jutsu's known as the "Rikudō no Jutsu (Six Paths Technique), but there are actually seven. With those eyes of yours you can unlock these jutsu's. The first is the "Tendō (Deva Path), which allows you to manipulate both attractive and repulsive forces, the "Shuradō (Asura Path) which allows you to use mechanized limbs, weaponry, and armor, the "Ningendō (Human Path) this one allows you to remove a soul and read a persons mind, the "Chikushōdō (Animal Path) which lets you summon a variety of animals, the "Gakidō (Preta Path) which can absorb all forms of chakra including most ninjutsu, the "Jigokudō (Naraka Path) which lets you summon and control the king of hell, and the lastly the "Gedō (Outer Path) which lets you rule over life and death."** Kyūbi went into full detail.

Naruto absorbed all of this in complete and utter shock, "It can do all that?"

 **"** **Hmph, way better than the Sharingan. Then again I'm not a fan of the Uchiha's in general."** The fox grumbled.

Naruto smiled at the giant fox, "Thank you for telling me all this, even though you didn't have to Kyūbi."

 **"…** **Kurama."** The fox mumbled.

The boy blinked then grinned, "You even have an awesome name. Then from now on I'll call you Kurama, but only when it's just us though."

Kurama smirked, **"Do what you want. Shukaku's vessel is calling you so wake up."**

Naruto didn't get the chance to say much else as a bright light blinded him making him close his eyes.

* * *

Naruto felt himself be shaken by someone, opening his eyes slowly blinking a few times to clear the fog from his eyes and saw Gaara giving him a worried gaze, "Gaara…?"

"Thank goodness," Gaara breathed a sigh of relief, "You've been asleep for 6 hours and wouldn't respond no matter what I did. Are you okay?"

The blonde sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes then looked at his friend, "I met the Kyūbi…"

"You too?" Gaara blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"I met the Ichibi, he was really big and was surrounded by a lot of sand." Gaara described.

"The Kyūbi was locked in some kind of jail cell," Naruto frowned, "But he told me his real name and told me about my dōjutsu and its abilities."

"Really? Tell me." Gaara asked eagerly.

Naruto told Gaara what happened and how the blonde was a descendant of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki the sage and "God of Shinobi," and the abilities his eyes have. Gaara sat there and listened to his friend amazed about what he told him.

"Amazing…" Gaara said.

"I know right? By the way, you said you met the Ichibi just like how I met the Kyūbi. What was he like?" Naruto asked out of curiosity.

"A little cranky, so when I told him he should sleep more he got mad at me but didn't try to hurt me at all. He looked like a tanuki." Gaara told him.

 ** _"_** ** _BWAHAHAHAHA!"_** Naruto heard inside his head making him and Gaara jump at the same time, "Kurama?" the blonde questioned.

 ** _"_** ** _It's me alright! That was hilarious kid! I haven't laughed like that in a long time!"_** Kurama bellowed making both boys sweat-drop.

 ** _"_** ** _Shut the hell up, Kurama!"_** Gaara and Naruto heard in their minds, "That was Shukaku just now."

Naruto smirked, "They fight like their siblings…wait they are siblings."

Gaara nodded.

"But I wonder though," Naruto had a thought, "Who's the oldest?"

 ** _"_** ** _I am."_** Both Bijū answered, **_"Like hell you are! Stop copying me!"_**

Both boys sweat-dropped, "Sorry I asked." Naruto said.

* * *

Kiba was starting to get annoyed with Sakura and Ino. Iruka-sensei had assigned them to get in groups with as many people as they wanted and discuss what to do incase they run into a ninja that was above them, in other words: Battle Strategy. It was important they do this because in the real world they will have to come across strong ninja when they graduate. The reason he was so annoyed is because Sakura and Ino weren't contributing at all and were too busy staring at Sasuke and listened to his opinion without even giving any of their own. It was a colossal pain in the ass. And then there was Sasuke who for some reason kept staring at Naruto like some kind of creeper, he saw Gaara would give him subtle glares every once in a while as if daring him to do something. He would have snapped at the two kunoichi if it wasn't for Shikamaru who merely shook his head telling him to let it go and that there was no point. Kiba relented but still this was really annoying.

Naruto meanwhile was listening to Shikamaru give some insight seeing as how planning strategy is his thing. Naruto named Shikamaru as captain saying that he was most suited for it. Shikamaru said it was troublesome but took the role anyway.

"So, that's that. What do you guys wanna do now?" Shikamaru questioned.

Naruto plopped down on the ground looking up at the clouds, "Watching the clouds sounds nice…"

Shikamaru smirked following his example, "You read my mind."

Choji was next to Shikamaru, while Hinata and Gaara took Naruto's left and right side. Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino were near each other and it was peaceful until Sakura and Ino started fighting over who would lay next to Sasuke much to everyone's annoyance including Sasuke's. It was at that point where Kiba just snapped, "SHUT UP!" he shouted.

Everyone looked over at him in complete shock. Guess he lost his patience.

"We're trying to relax here after finishing the assignment you two didn't contribute to, and the last thing we wanna hear is you fighting over Sasuke! Its annoying!" Kiba yelled with Akamaru barking in agreement.

Naruto had closed his eyes not wanting to get involved. It had noting to do with him and Shikamaru didn't even try to play peacemaker not wanting to get involved either.

"Mind your own business, Kiba!" Ino yelled.

"No! It's not just me either, it's getting on everyone's nerves!" Kiba retorted.

"Kiba is correct, why is this? Because everyone's tired of hearing the same thing over and over again when it comes to you two and Sasuke." Shino agreed.

"Oh whatever bug boy!" Ino scoffed.

"Yeah mind your own business!" Sakura agreed.

Kiba was this close into setting Akamaru on her but Shino merely shook his head, it wasn't even worth it.

"You two are so troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.

"Shut up Shikamaru!" They both yelled.

He simply yawned in response.

Naruto was staring up at the sky not even caring about his surroundings right now. Closing his eyes he opened them back up when he heard the sound of chirping birds and sat up prompting Gaara and Hinata to follow his actions, "I'm gonna go for a walk." He stood up.

"I'll go too." Gaara stood up.

Hinata wanted to go with them but the blonde smiled saying they won't be gone for long and walked off away from the bickering females and everyone else unaware of Sasuke's trailing after them.

Naruto and Gaara stopped and looked up at a tree watching the birds chirp happily, "It's kinda strange isn't it?"

"What is?" Gaara questioned.

"This," the blonde referred to the other kids, "Talking and hanging out with people my own age. Aside from you and Hinata I haven't tried to get along with anyone else in our age group. It feels weird talking with them like this. Feels like a dream."

Gaara smiled, "To be honest with you I thought the same thing as well. When Jiraiya-sensei fixed my seal and told me I could finally sleep now, I was really scared because I thought you were a dream my subconscious created in my never ending loneliness."

Naruto gave his friend a heartbroken look.

"But," Gaara smiled, "When I woke up and you were right in front of me I realized that it wasn't a dream and that you're really my friend."

Naruto grinned, "Same here."

Unknown to the two boys Shikamaru was hiding behind a tree having heard the whole conversation in deep thought about what they were talking about. He could always ask his dad about Naruto but decided to look into it himself even if he meant he had to break into the Hokage's office to get some answers. Until then he'll act as Naruto's shadow protecting him without him knowing.

* * *

Himeko smiled seeing Naruto and Gaara passed out in the living room having finished their homework for the Academy and placed a large blanket over them.

"Fell asleep after doing homework, huh?" Jiraiya walked in the living room with his arms crossed.

"Yes, I escorted Hinata home as soon as she finished. That girl is such a sweetheart but also has the hot's for Naruto." Himeko smiled.

"Probably because they're the same when it comes to being outcasts." Jiraiya said grimly. Naruto was treated as an outcast by the village while Hinata being treated as an outcast by her own clan. Then there's Gaara, but the bond Naruto and Hinata share runs deep, "Tomorrow I wanna teach them weaponry."

Himeko stilled then smiled, "Actually I have a scroll carrying two weapons that will suit both Naruto and Hinata."

Jiraiya just blinked at her in confusion but at the same time eager to see what it was.

* * *

 **Next Time: Prologue: Staff of the Sage!**


	4. Prologue: Staff of the Sage!

More survivors from the Uzushiogakure have come to see their remaining kin within Konoha, and intend to stay with them whether Konoha likes it or not.

* * *

Hinata was in her room thinking about what her father said. She had spent the night over Naruto and Gaara's house twice and her father hadn't said anything but tonight he summoned her and questioned where she was for the first time. She was honestly convinced that he didn't care about her or where she went, so this was a surprise. She told her father honestly that she was training with her friends and was too tired to come home at the time. He seemed to except it, which was good for her because the last thing she needed was for him to tell her that she couldn't hang out with Naruto and Gaara anymore. That would break her heart. So here she was now currently in her room with a smile on her face, she was gaining some confidence while being around Naruto and Gaara, and she wanted to be able to stand by the blonde's side and fight with him as well as protect him. There was another reason she was so happy, she was finally able to perform the 8 Trigrams 64 Palms and even thought she was exhausted it had been worth it because she perfected the technique, to her that was a great achievement. While she was happy to have completed it, she wanted to work on her defensive move, the Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation). Well, maybe she didn't have to replicate it specifically. Maybe she could create her own version of the defensive move…

 _"_ _Huh, I always thought Water suited you more."_

She blushed thinking about what Naruto said to her that time they were practicing nature chakra, but for some reason she believed him to be right when he said it suited her. Maybe she could create her own defensive technique using water! She decided to try it out tomorrow with the help of Himeko-san. Rubbing her eyes she laid down on her futon slowly closing her eyes drifting off to slumber land. Or at least that was the plan.

 **Hinata's Mindscape**

Hinata blinked as she opened her eyes and looked around seeing she was on the moon! Which shouldn't even be possible! Looking around frantically she saw that she was indeed on the moon because she saw the planet Earth and started to become really scared.

"Wh-What's going on?" Hinata said fearfully.

 **"** **Byakugan Princess…"** a young voice said from behind her making her turn around quickly.

Before her was a tall young man with hairless brow ridges and white hair which was waist length. His bangs were short hung to left side of his face with a chin-length lock, which hung from the right side of his face. On his forehead were small horn-like protrusions, and his eyes were the same as hers, meaning he had the Byakugan. He was wearing a light, full-length kimono with a pattern of six black magatama around a high collar and dark pants. He had his sword in its sheath strapped to his left hip. He also had a dark crescent-moon representing Yin mark in his left palm.

Hinata stared at the mysterious man with confusion, "Wh-Who are you?"

He blinked at her, **"I am…Hamura Ōtsutsuki."**

"Hamura Ōtsutsuki? Like the legend?" Hinata questioned.

 **"** **Correct, however I am no legend. I existed along with my brother Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. I feel his soul is within Naruto Uzumaki who also inherits my nephew's soul Asura Ōtsutsuki."** Hamura stated.

"N-Naruto-kun holds two souls within him?" Hinata gasped.

 **"** **Yes, it would seem my brother was worried and decided to watch over him from within, just like I am doing with you."** He told her.

"Your worried about me?" Hinata was surprised.

 **"** **I am, you are seen as an outcast from the very clan that are part descendant from me. I feel as though I am responsible for the suffering you have to endure from your own clan. I did not wish for the clan to become like this."** He said sadly.

"No its okay! I'm not alone, because I have Naruto-kun and Gaara-kun with me! And you also, so I'm okay!" Hinata smiled.

Hamura couldn't help but stare a the child and showed a small smile, **"You truly are a kind child. Use that kindness to save the Hyūga clan from their arrogance. I will be watching over you, also there is something I believe you must know."**

"What is it, Hamura-san?" Hinata asked.

 **"** **There is another dōjutsu that is considered the awakened form of the Byakugan…the Tenseigan."** He explained.

"Tenseigan?"

 **"** **It is a dōjutsu that I myself manifested and used to bring order and stability on the moon where most my descendants lived. It is now possible to manifest a new Tenseigan by combining both my descendants chakra along with the Hyūga's. When an Ōtsutsuki implants the Hyūga's chakra it combines to create the Tenseigan. Once implanted the Byakugan will gradually synchronize with the Ōtsutsuki's chakra and mature it into the Tenseigan, but this also causes painful pulsations in the process. Once the final, and most painful pulsation has concluded, the Tenseigan will be complete."** Hamura explained.

"A-Amazing…I didn't know the Byakugan could evolve like that." Hinata was amazed.

 **"** **Indeed. The reason I am telling you this is because I will combine my chakra with yours so that you may wield the Tenseigan, but only if you want."** He observed her reaction.

Hinata thought about it carefully, she could sense he was telling her this for another reason but didn't say what it was yet but she wouldn't pry. She closed her eyes thinking that accepting wouldn't be bad because that meant when they awaken she could use them to protect Naruto in the near future. With a burning resolve she opened her eyes, "I accept!"

Hamura smiled bringing his hand closer to her eyes making her close them again, **"Very well…please accept this gift Byakugan Princess."**

 **Back to Reality**

Hinata opened her eyes slowly and sat up from the futon rubbing her eyes, but if you take a closer look you could see that her facial expression was different from the usual Hinata Hyūga. Getting up from the futon the girl went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror only the reflection didn't reflect her but Hamura Ōtsutsuki who kept his composed look as he possessed his descendant, the Hyūga's were his descendants also and he didn't care who believed them or not.

"My apologies Byakugan Princess, but it appears I will be borrowing your body for awhile," Possessed Hinata decided to get ready for the day and when she was done she got dressed and opened the screen door, "I sense my brother's soul is nearby somewhere…I should go see him." Walking out of her room she headed towards the entrance putting her sandals on and walking out of the entrance when she spotted a boy with long brown hair who looked like he just finished training from what he saw and walked over towards her.

"I see you're awake." The boy said but she could sense the coldness he had for the girl, and he could see why. His own clan marked him with the "Caged Bird Seal." Despicable. This clan truly has fallen.

"Indeed," she looked up at the sky watching the birds fly away so freely, "Times have truly changed, it would seem the human race has become violent and corrupted over the years since our departure from the world. I assume he feels the same way."

The boy stared at her with confusion; this might be the first time she spoke to him without feeling nervous or intimidated by his presence. And just what is she talking about?

Possessed Hinata looked ahead of her, "I am going out now, Neji-niisan. Do take care of yourself." And with that the possessed girl walked away without saying another word to the confused Neji who couldn't help but feel as though the person he just spoke to wasn't Hinata.

And he would be right.

* * *

At the same time Naruto had been possessed by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki who sensed his brother had awoken and was on his way to see him. Not wanting to miss the chance of reuniting with his twin he got up to get ready for the day and when that was done walked out the door without alerting Gaara, Himeko, or Jiraiya. With a smile he started walking towards the gate entrance until he came face to face with Hinata Hyūga, "It's been a long time, Hamura."

Possessed Hinata smiled, "Yes, it has been a long time nii-san."

Possessed Naruto walked closer to the girl, "I see, so it was young Hinata who held your soul. Interesting."

"The same could be said of you nii-san," Possessed Hinata showed a small smile, "Naruto Uzumaki holds not only your soul, but that of my nephew Asura Ōtsutsuki. What of Indra?"

Possessed Naruto sighed, "He has resided in the young boy Sasuke Uchiha, he seems to have taken an…interest in young Naruto. He watches him from afar, but I can sense a small dark force from within the boy confirming that Sasuke is indeed Indra's reincarnation."

"I see, that is disheartening to hear nii-san." Possessed Hinata sighed, "Why don't we take a walk and discuss this somewhere private."

Naruto smiled, "I know just the place."

* * *

Naruto and Hinata were jumping from building to building, the blonde taking the girl to one of the boy's favorite spots. The Hokage Monument. They finally arrived at the monument where both children sat on the Yondaime's head, "Time's truly have changed, nii-san…"

"Yes they have." Possessed Naruto agreed.

"I can sense Kurama is within you, question is why?" Possessed Hinata questioned.

Possessed Naruto explained everything from seeing the boy's memories and how his other children are currently in other villages sealed inside of other humans being used as weapons.

Possessed Hinata rubbed her temples, "How could the human race have fallen so low since our departure from this world? Even the Hyūga clan dares to put the Caged Bird Seal on one of their own and have the houses divided as the Main and Brach house instead of having it combined into one family."

"It would seem they want your wrath then," Possessed Naruto chuckled, "Placing that seal on their own clan members."

"Indeed," Possessed Hinata agreed then placed a hand on the blonde's stomach, "Is it possible to speak with Kurama?"

Possessed Naruto smiled placing his hand on hers and closing his eyes bringing both of their consciousness's inside to see Kurama.

 **Naruto's Mindscape**

Kurama blinked inside his prison not believing what he was feeling at all. This couldn't be possible, right? There's no way he was feeling both his father and uncle's presence, right? Hearing footsteps he saw two figures approach the cage and it was indeed both his father Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki and uncle Hamura Ōtsutsuki.

His eyes widened, **"F-Father…Uncle…"**

Hagoromo approached the cage with sad eyes and smiled at his son, "Kurama…It has been far too long my son."

Kurama bowed his head till he was face to face with the man, **"It really is you…but how?"**

"I've been inside Naruto since he was born, I sense Asura has not yet awakened yet so for now its just me. I was the one who awakened the Rinnegan within Naruto." Hagoromo smiled.

Kurama blinked, **"So, you were the one who awakened it. I'm surprised the kid didn't say anything."**

"He was too busy being fascinated by your knowledge at the time to tell you he met me." Hagoromo smiled.

Kurama blushed and looked away.

Hamura stepped forward, "I can't believe you've been reduced to this, Kurama. And not just you but your siblings as well."

 **"** **Uncle…"**

"Sealing all of you into humans who never asked for such a fate and then hating them for no reason proves how low the human race has fallen since our departure from this world." Hamura was beyond angry but managed to keep his anger under control.

Hagoromo sighed, "Indeed, but I have another reason for being here besides allowing Hamura to see you. I'm going to remove the seal and free you from your prison."

Kurama wasn't surprised his father would do such a thing, but Hamura was curious, "Are you sure Naruto would be okay with that?"

Hagoromo smiled, "I could sense Naruto wanted to free Kurama at some point, but why not do it now? I do want Kurama to stay within Naruto to protect the boy. I feel a dark sense of foreboding, so I believe its best to have Kurama still within Naruto so that he may continue to watch over and protect him. Is that alright with you, son?"

Kurama had to admit that he grew a little attached to the brat, and felt a little touched that Naruto wanted to free him from the seal. The kid's too kind, **"Father, you have my word that I will protect Naruto."**

Hagoromo smiled and reached up to tear the seal off the cage but before he could a hand gripped his wrist firmly making him turn his head to the side with a smile, "I see, so you were here as well."

The person before him had blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing a long white robe. This person…was the Yondaime Hokage.

"Hello." The blonde haired male smiled.

Hagoromo stared at the man before smiling himself, "Hello to you as well, Minato Namikaze."

Hamura looked like he wanted to intervene but Hagoromo simply smiled at his brother, "Hello there, Kushina Uzumaki." He greeted the female that was standing behind his brother making the male turn around. The red haired woman gave both men a suspicious look not understanding how the two of them got here in the first place.

"Who are you, and what happened to my son?!" Kushina demanded.

Hagoromo smiled, "Be at ease Kushina. Naruto is fine, he's simply sleeping in another place of his subconscious. I only appeared to see my younger brother."

Hamura bowed to the two, "Hamura."

Minato smiled, "Nice to meet you." He greeted back.

"You as well." Hamura said.

Hagoromo heard Kurama growl at the blonde, "Now Kurama there's no need to growl."

Kurama stopped growling but sent a glare Minato's way making Hagoromo chuckle. The man reached towards the seal again prompting Minato to grab his wrist again, "What are you doing?!"

"Releasing Kurama from the seal. It saddens me to see him like this." Hagoromo said calmly.

"Are you crazy?! You can't release the Kyūbi, he's dangerous!" Kushina yelled.

"Incorrect," Hamura intervened, "Kurama is not the threat you perceive him to be. He was made out to be that way by human ignorance."

"What my brother says is true, the Bijū that I created were not put on this earth to be used as weapons, but to keep something from being revived." Hagoromo informed removing Minato's hand from his wrist gently.

"What do you mean?" Minato questioned.

Instead of answering him Hagoromo simply lifted his hand again and removed the seal therefore freeing Kurama from the jail cell that kept him imprisoned. Minato and Kushina got into fighting positions but were surprised when Kurama simply lowered his head down towards Hagoromo who rubbed his son's nose.

"It feels good to be able to do this again, right Kurama?" Hagoromo smiled.

Kurama smirked at his father while Hamura turned to a confused Minato and Kushina, "You have questions, but they will be answered by my brother since the Bijū are his creations."

"Creations? You mean your brother made the Bijū?" Minato questioned.

Hagoromo gave them a smile, "We have much to talk about, don't we?"

* * *

Hiruzen sighed rubbing his temples, the Kazekage finally sent something in regards to Gaara. And judging by the look on the Hokage's face he wasn't happy with what was said in the letter the Kazekage sent. Tsunade and Shizune chose that time to come in and saw the look on the Hokage's face and knew something just gave the old man a huge headache.

"I take it the Kazekage sent something about you taking Gaara from Sunagakure?" Tsunade inquired.

Hiruzen sighed for what felt like the hundredth time today, "Yes he did…" he gave the letter to Tsunade who took it and started reading it along with Shizune.

 _Hokage._

 _I'm aware that you took Gaara away from Sunagakure after Yashamaru's failed assassination attempt. Gaara was to be terminated because he's a failed experiment, which is why I sent Yashamaru to end his life but that seems to have ended in failure._

 _Therefore, you have nothing to worry about in terms of me ordering you to return the boy because I have announced to the villagers of him running away and stated that I just received word of his death despite it being not being true, but his role as our weapon is over because he is nothing more but a failed experiment to me and the council. If you desire to keep him there in your village then you have my full blessings, and there's no reason to worry over possible war because I have no interest in getting a useless weapon back._

 _-Kazekage_

Tsunade crumbled the paper in her hands while Shizune put her hand to her mouth in sadness.

"I can't believe the Kazekage would say such a horrible thing…" Shizune looked down sadly with Ton Ton agreeing with her.

Hiruzen stood up from his seat, "I was expecting him to send a response, but what I wasn't expecting this," he walked over to the window and he stared down at the village, "He saw Gaara as nothing more than a weapon and not a human being, and the villagers kept their distance from the boy believing him to be nothing more but a monster. The boy's eyes showed sadness and loneliness."

"Like Naruto." Tsunade said.

"Hmmm, when we visited the boy went over by Gaara and stayed with him until my meeting with the Kazekage was over. When I came back to check on them I saw two smiling children, not monsters." Hiruzen stated firmly.

"We know that, but these idiot villagers don't." Tsunade scoffed, "The Yondaime said he wanted Naruto to be seen as a hero, right? Well that's not happening right now. From the information I've gathered, the boy's life was hell here. Kicked out of the orphanage when he was only 4 years old, nearly beaten to death by the villagers, the list goes on. It's a wonder he hasn't lost his sanity

Shizune looked horrified, "The villagers really did something so horrible?"

Hiruzen didn't have it in him to turn around to face them, "Yes…its true."

"Unbelievable," Tsunade scoffed again, "I'm starting to wonder why my grandfather even bothered with this village. The people here are just down right disgusting."

"Konoha was a village that accepted all, not caring who you are, were you came from, or who raised you, but now that seems to be non existent. It amazes me that Naruto can forgive the villagers cruelty. The boy is truly too forgiving." Hiruzen stated.

"No kidding," Tsunade agreed, "So, now what?"

Hiruzen thought about it, "The Kazekage has stated himself that he has no plans to start a war over Gaara so that's good. Also, I already have plans for those three."

"What do you mean, Hokage-sama?" Shizune questioned.

"Normally I arrange the teams when they've graduated and become Genin, but I will be making an exception for those three children." Hiruzen told them.

Tsunade smirked, while Shizune smiled.

Hiruzen was in thought, _'I hope that as they get older Iwagakure won't try anything. I hope they won't try anything now, but in case they do I will protect Naruto no matter what.'_

* * *

Hagoromo was amused by Minato and Kushina's faces when he told him who he and his brother was and explained everything else. Both seemed to understand so that was a good thing.

Kushina finally managed to speak, "I-I had no idea our clan were your descendants Hagoromo-sama."

"Me neither," Minato agreed, "This is surprising."

Hagoromo smiled, "Yes, I assume it is isn't it. I want to watch over the boy just as Hamura wants to watch over young Hinata."

Hamura nodded in agreement.

Minato and Kushina looked at each other then at him and smiled, "I just wish we could spend more time with our son in spirit." The woman said sadly.

Hagoromo smiled, "Who says you can't?"

Both parents tilted their heads in confusion.

* * *

It was still a little early so the villagers weren't coming out of their houses or opening their stores yet, so the two children decided to walk through the village and ran into Himeko who had been looking for them.

"There you are!" she approached, "I've been looking all over for you, where were you?"

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other, "For some reason we were on the Hokage Monument. We don't know how we got up there." The boy explained.

Hinata nodded, "We're sorry for worrying you, Himeko-san."

The woman simply smiled and took them back to the house where Gaara was sitting at the table waiting for them, "Your back."

Naruto went over to him, "Sorry for worrying you, we'll tell you later." The blonde whispered making Gaara nod in understanding.

Himeko went to her room and pulled out a sealing scroll that had a "ying-yang" symbol on it and went back out to the kitchen, "Naruto, I have something for you."

Naruto gave his attention to his older sister and saw she had a scroll in her hand, "What's the scroll for?"

She smiled, "There's a special weapon sealed in here that was guarded protectively by the elders of our clan when they were still alive. The weapon was only supposed to be given to the one who's able to unseal it and so far there hasn't been anyone and since Uzushiogakure's destruction there hasn't been anyone else until now. As soon as we have breakfast I want to take you to the training grounds so we can see if you're the one to unseal it."

Naruto gave her a look of determination, "I'll unseal it! I swear on it!"

She smiled, "Good answer."

* * *

Elsewhere near the border of Konohagakure were five individuals wearing black cloaks bearing the symbol of the Uzumaki Ichizoku on their backs, which were red. One of the individuals was currently standing on a tree with their eyes closed as if trying to sense someone, and soon enough once they opened their eyes once they sensed who they were looking for they opened their eyes.

"Report." One of the individuals said from below, the voice sounding elderly.

The individual jumped down from the tree, "Sir, I have found the heir. He is currently within Konohagakure as you suspected, there is another Uzumaki with him as well." the figure reported the voice sounding feminine.

The cloaked figure showed a small smile, "I see…then my suspicions were correct then," he turned to the figure next to him, "And what of the others we have stationed?"

"Sir, they are currently in position just like you instructed them to and are currently awaiting your orders." The male figure informed.

"Very well," the looked ahead of him and stared at Konoha with a not so pleased expression, "Come, let us go see our heir. And while we're here why not pay a visit to their Hokage?"

"Agreed." The male next to him agreed as they all disappeared from sight.

* * *

Naruto and his friends were currently at the training ground where Naruto had laid out the sealing scroll before him and looked at it carefully concentrating on the symbols.

Himeko, Hinata, and Gaara were standing there observing him waiting to see what Naruto would do to try and unseal the "special weapon" that was sealed in the scroll.

Himeko was stared, _'I don't know why, but I have a feeling that he'll be able to unseal the weapon that has been passed down to us. The only ones who know what's really inside were the elders and their long gone, but it's said that the weapon sealed inside the scroll belonged to Rikudō Sennin. I wonder…'_

Naruto was still staring at the sealing scroll looking at the sealing formulas that looked really complex, but he spent hours studying Fūinjutsu over the summer wanting to honor his clan by learning their jutsu and understood it like it was no big deal, but he's an Uzumaki so that came as no surprise.

 _'_ _It's easy to understand but there's this one part that's really confusing. "By The Blood of the Sage." What does that mean-'_ his eyes widened as he finally got it, "Blood of the Sage…that's it!" he bit his thumb and saw his blood then spread it across the circle on the seal, "Fūinjutsu: Shakujō no Sennin (Sealing Technique: Staff of the Sage)!" the sealing formulas on the scroll glowed blue and there was a puff of smoke, when the smoke cleared Naruto saw what looked to be a Shakujō staff that was black in color. The boy grabbed hold of it gripping it but not too tightly, "This is…"

"So that's what was in the scroll," Himeko breathed out as she approached, "Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki's staff…that's why the elders had guarded it so carefully."

Naruto looked at her then back at the staff he was currently holding, "Wow, Hagoromo-jiji wielded this and fought with it? Amazing."

"That he was, but I hear there's another reason this staff is special and made so that he was the only one to use it." Himeko smiled.

"What do you mean?" Hinata tilted her head.

"I'll show you, Naruto hand me the staff." Himeko held her hand out.

The boy nodded and handed her the staff…only for it to fall and slam to the ground as though it weighed a thousand pounds!

"Wha…?" Naruto stared in disbelief.

"The staff…" Hinata blinked.

"It just…fell to the ground…" Gaara stared.

Himeko chuckled, "That it did, you see this staff is only able to be wielded by the one to inherit the will of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. If anyone else should try and take it the staff will not recognize them as the rightful owner and weigh heavily preventing them from picking it up."

Naruto just nodded and picked up the staff that felt weightless in his grasp, "You're right, it feels weightless when I hold it."

"That proves that you've inherited Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki's will," she smiled, "If the elders were here I just know they'd be happy."

Naruto smiled as he held the staff firmly, _'Hagoromo-jiji…I'll do my best to carry on your will.'_ He was pretty sure he heard a chuckle in the back of his mind but paid it no heed.

"Well that was interesting." A voice said from behind them. Turning around they saw it was Jiraiya.

"Did you just get here?" Himeko questioned.

"I did, and I gotta say that was interesting to watch." Jiraiya said.

Himeko smiled, "I bet it was, forgive me for asking but are you good at teaching Bōjutsu?"

Jiraiya thought about it, "To be honest with you I'm not al that great in the art of Bōjutsu seeing as how I've never practiced the art before. But I do have some scrolls that he could use to learn from in the meantime."

Before Himeko could respond an ANBU with a dog mask appeared before them. Himeko tensed but Jiraiya put a hand on her shoulder signaling to her that it was alright, "Yo, its been awhile."

"It has Jiraiya-sama." Dog responded.

"To what do I owe the sudden appearance?" Jiraiya questioned.

"There are suspicious cloaked individuals heading straight for the village and Sandaime-sama has requested that you and I question their intentions for coming to the village." Dog informed.

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, "I see…I'll be right there then," he turned to Himeko, "Watch over the kids while we go see what's going on."

"Right." She nodded.

Both males disappeared but this action did not go unnoticed by the three children.

"Did something happen, Himeko-san?" Hinata asked.

The woman smiled, "They just had some business to take care of, its nothing you need to worry about."

Naruto and Gaara didn't look convinced about that but didn't question it any further knowing it was none of their business.

Hinata gave Himeko a hopeful look, "Um, Himeko-san? Will you help me train please?"

Himeko gave her a kind smile, "Of course I'll help you! Now then, what would you like to work on today?"

Hinata fidgeted, "Actually, there's this new technique I'm trying to complete and I'd like everyone's help."

Naruto and Gaara looked at each other then back at Hinata and smiled, "We'd love too, Hina." Naruto told her.

She blushed beat red, "H-Hina?!"

"It's your nickname," Naruto said, "What? You don't like it?"

"N-No! I-I like it! Thank you, Naruto-kun!" she smiled with a small blush on her face.

"Your welcome." He smiled.

Himeko squealed at their cuteness while Gaara smirked at his two best friends. They really are a good match.

* * *

The cloaked figures soon arrived at the gates of Konoha where the gatekeepers, Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki were. Both men saw the figures arrive at the gate and became suspicious immediately.

"Halt! State your business!" Kotetsu ordered.

One of the figures spoke next to the taller one who was leading the group, "Your Hokage…bring him here."

"What?" Izumo said.

"I believe your ears still work," the male figure stated, "We would like for you to bring your Hokage here, there are matters we wish to discuss with him."

"No hold on-!" Kotetsu's protest was cut short by one of the females of the group.

"Stop your worthless babble and bring him here already!" she growled menacingly.

"Stand down, I sense the presence of two individuals already on their way here," another female voice informed, "We will simply ask them to allow us to see the Hokage."

"Agreed." The male voice said.

"Tch, whatever." The grumpy female voice accepted grudgingly.

Jiraiya and Dog soon arrived before them, "Well this is a surprise, we don't get visitors like you everyday."

"I'd be surprised if you did Jiraiya," the male voice leading the rest commented, "Or do you prefer, "Gama Sennin (Toad Sage)?"

Jiraiya and the ANBU next to him narrowed their eyes at the individuals, "Who are you?" the white haired man demanded.

"We will reveal who we are to your Hokage, the topic of discussion involves two of our kin that are currently here in your village." The one leading them told them.

Both males were immediately on edge with "Dog" going into a defensive stance making one of the hooded males chuckle.

"Don't even bother, Inu-san. Your too weak." He said cheerfully.

"Stop teasing the young man," the leader of the group scolded lightly, "Now then, I suggest you take us to that brat Sarutobi. I need to have a few words with him. Now."

"Inu" thought that them meeting the third was a bad idea but Jiraiya nodded his head making the leader smirk as they were escorted to the Hokage Tower, and what an interesting conversation it will be because everyone will be there.

 **Hokage Tower Council Member Chambers**

Hiruzen Sarutobi called a council meeting to discuss the sudden arrival of the mysterious figures along with their borders being surrounded so suddenly by these mysterious figures as well. He wasn't the only one there either; there were the three elders, Koharu, Homura, and Danzo. The civilian council, the clan heads starting with Tsunade Senju of the Senju Ichizoku who the clan heads gave a warm welcome back to, Shibi Aburame of the Aburame Ichizoku, Chōza Akimichi of the Akimichi Ichizoku, Hiashi Hyūga of the Hyūga Ichizoku, Tsume Inuzuka of the Inuzuka Ichizoku, Shikaku Nara of the Nara Ichizoku, and Inoichi Yamanaka of the Yamanaka Ichizoku. Fugaku Uchiha wasn't there because of the Uchiha massacre.

Tsunade was the first to speak, "So these mysterious visitors brought an army with them near the border that's just been on standby not doing anything?"

"That's right, their not even attacking just standing around waiting," Shikaku stated, "Troublesome."

"I find it strange they haven't demanded anything yet and are just standing by not even attacking, I must admit I find it quite strange." Hiashi admitted.

"I agree, I wonder why they came here?" Chōza agreed.

"Why not ask them yourselves?" Jiraiya came in with Inu and the mysterious hooded figures were right behind them. The white haired man walked over by Hiruzen and stood next to him, while Inu stood on his other side. The figures stood in the center but the clan heads could sense great power coming from all of them that felt eerily familiar.

"Who are you and why have you come to Konoha?" Hiruzen questioned.

The leader smirked, "It seems you've taken the role of Hokage quite well haven't you…Saru."

"Th-That voice! You couldn't be!" Hiruzen stared at the man with disbelief.

"You know this man Sarutobi-sensei?" Tsunade questioned.

The man turned to her, "Well now, if it isn't little Tsunade, you've grown."

"What?"

"My my, has it really been that long that you don't even recognize my voice?" the removed his hood showing his face making the clan heads, Hiruzen and the three elders pale, "Guess I can't blame you." The man had long red hair that was in a low ponytail and orange eyes.

Hiruzen stood abruptly, "Y-You…Toshihiro…Uzumaki!"

"Uzumaki?" one of the civilians murmured.

"You mean he's related to that monster?" another one questioned.

As soon as those words left his mouth the table in front of him shattered to pieces making him fall flat down on his bottom and sweating with fear as one of the figures gave him a murderous grin.

"Bold words from a weakling," the young figure grinned, "Care to repeat that?"

"Leave that piece of garbage alone Kamui," one of the female figures said in a monotone tone of voice, "He's not worth your time nor your energy, so leave him be."

Kamui took off his hood revealing his long red hair that was in a low braided ponytail with purple eyes, wearing a black Changshan along with black pants and black flat shoes. The boy looked to be about 13 years old with a smile on his face. (I just love Kamui from Gintama so I decided to put him in my story).

"That's too bad, I was looking forward to smashing his head in but I guess that'll have to wait." Kamui smiled.

One of the figures shook his head, "Damn brat always causing trouble." He mumbled.

Toshihiro smiled at the boy, "Kamui, why don't you go see him? I sense he's nearby along with another one of our own and two others."

"Eh, really? I get to see him first? Cool." Kamui grinned with anticipation, "Its too bad thought, I wanted to scare this piece of garbage some more."

"Just get going already!" a different female figure yelled.

"Hai hai, I'm going." Kamui said cheerfully walking away from everyone but eyeing the clan heads with eagerness in his eyes wanting to fight all of them, but the real question that was going on in his head was who's the strongest of them all? As soon as the door closed everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.

"That boy," Toshihiro rolled his eyes, "I sometimes wonder what goes on his head."

"I'd rather not know." The female figure stated.

"Agreed." The male figure next to her agreed.

Hiruzen coughed into his fist gaining their attention, "It has certainly been a long time Toshihiro-sama, as always you haven't aged a day."

"Naturally you brat, us Uzumaki's are known for our long lifespans. Mito is a prime example of that." He stated.

"Indeed." Hiruzen agreed.

"Um, Hokage-sama? Who are these people?" a civilian asked.

Shikaku answered instead, "Not surprising you don't know, so I'll fill you in. This man is Toshihiro Uzumaki; he's their leader and Head of the Uzumaki Ichizoku. He's also known as "The Crimson Nightmare."

"U-Uzumaki Ichizoku?!" another civilian gasped and paled considerably along with everyone else.

"Yes you ignorant fool we are a clan and helped established the bond between our clan and the Senju's because of your Shodaime." Toshihiro glared.

"Wh-What do you mean?" another civilian shivered.

"Hashirama Senju married Mito Uzumaki keeping close ties between both families," Shikaku explained, "They chose to symbolize their friendship by the Uzumaki's emblem to Konoha's flask jackets, they even helped provide the fūinjutsu we practice now except their better at it than us."

The civilians on the council couldn't believe what they were hearing, and by the calm looks on clan heads, Hokage, and Elders faces it was the complete truth.

"So then…that means…"

Toshihiro glared at the civilian that spoke, "We are the reason you have what you have now you ignorant fool, that also means that Naruto Uzumaki my great-grandson is related to Tsunade Senju making them cousins."

Tsunade stared at the civilians who had looks of disbelief on their faces and nodded, "That's right, the kids my relative and while we're talking about him let's discuss the abuse he's been subjected to by you idiots."

The clan heads looked at her then back at the civilians but it was Shikaku who spoke first and for the first time was surprisingly angry, "What abuse? What the hell have you idiots done to the kid?"

One of the hooded females figures stepped forward with a clipboard in hand, "Allow me to explain, the first sign of abuse towards Naruto-sama was when the matron of the orphanage kicking him out at the age of 4 leaving him homeless for a time before the ANBU known as "Inu" found him and informed Sandaime who did nothing but fire the woman but we decided to take maters into our own hands."

Hiruzen paled, "What did you do to that woman?"

The hooded woman tilted her head to the side slightly, "Would you really like to know?"

The clan heads really didn't want to know and neither did the elders or civilians so they let it go.

"We've also dealt with the civilians that would beat him to the point where he was close to death, and by dealt with I mean we slaughtered them and burned their bodies until they were nothing but ashes." She continued.

"You did what?!" a civilian council member shot up from his seat.

 **"** **Silence."** The male next to her released his KI making the civilian fall to his knees and suffocated him until he eventually passed out.

"That is all I have to report." The hooded woman bowed.

"Thank you," Toshihiro smiled at her, "Now then, the Fire Daimyo was not happy when we showed him this and was severely disappointed with the civilians of this village as am I Sarutobi."

Hiruzen put his head down in shame knowing he was right, though his duties as Hokage made it so he couldn't do much for the boy but he tried the best he could.

"How disgusting, to physically abuse a child when you all have children of your own. As far as I'm concerned you have no right to call yourselves parent let alone humans, you act too much like…demons." The woman stated emotionlessly.

Before any of the civilian council could retort that Shikaku spoke up first, "She's right, that kid's carrying a burden that he never asked for but instead of seeing it that way you blamed the kid for something he didn't even do and used him as a scapegoat and passed down all your hatred to your own kids. You may not be shinobi and don't know what its like to carry a burden no matter what age you are, but to do what you did to that kid is downright cruel."

"Agreed." Inoichi agreed with him.

The other clan heads weren't impressed with the civilian council either making all of them bow their heads in shame.

"As expected of a Nara, always getting to the point and speak the truth." Toshihiro smiled, "Now then, we came here to tell you the reason why we're here and depending on what answer you give us we'll have the ones stationed at the border to either stand down or come charging in. So what will it be, Sarutobi?"

Hiruzen was in no position to deny him anything, "I'll listen to the request."

Toshihiro grinned, "Excellent."

* * *

Naruto was practicing with his staff just swinging it around and pretending he was facing someone was a good way to practice and be ready for anything. Gaara was trying to practice getting the iron sand right, and so far there's been no results but he wasn't the type to give up just yet so he kept practicing. Himeko took Hinata off somewhere and told them that if they needed their help they'd call them over or just come over to them. Naruto performed one final swing before he felt someone was watching him, which was strange. He looked around for a while but didn't see anyone until his eyes caught something or someone surrounded in what looked like blue chakra.

He blinked staring in the direction where he sensed the person, "Who are you?"

The individual stood up and walked over to the boy, "Impressive, you knew exactly where I was. You'll grow up to be very strong, Naruto-kun."

Gaara stopped training and went over to stand next to his friend looking up at the stranger with caution and curiosity at the same time.

Kamui looked at Gaara with a smile, "Oh, your strong yourself. I look forward to fighting you when you're a little bit older, okay?"

Gaara grabbed Naruto's hand ready to use his sand to protect his friend if he had to from this strange person that gave him a bad feeling.

Kamui saw the reaction and put his hands up in surrender, "Now now, there's no need for that. I'm a relative of Naruto-kun's."

Naruto perked at that, "R-Really?"

The red head bent down and rubbed his head, "Of course, I'm your big brother Kamui Uzumaki. It's nice to finally meet you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked a little happy to have an older brother, "Kamui-niichan?"

Kamui picked the boy up and put him on his shoulder, "Well now aren't you cute?"

Naruto pouted a little being called cute making Kamui chuckle, "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Gaara Sabaku. My best friend." Naruto said proudly.

"Nice to meet you." The red head relaxed a little seeing this person was his best friends relative.

"Hello, Gaara-kun." Kamui smiled.

"Another one of my friends is here too," Naruto told the boy, "Her names Hinata Hyūga."

"Oh, your friends with a Hyūga? And on top of that she's a girl too? Well now~" Kamui gave the boy a sly grin making the blonde blush a little.

"Naruto-kun!"

They all turned their attention to Hinata, who came running over to them along with Himeko, "Who is this person?"

Kamui smiled at the girl, "Hello there Hyūga-san, my name is Kamui Uzumaki. I'm Naruto-kun's older brother."

Hinata smiled at the blonde, "That's good right Naruto-kun? You have more family members here now."

Naruto gave her a heartfelt smile, "Yeah…I do."

Himeko came not long after and froze when she saw Kamui holding Naruto, "You…"

Kamui saw her and slowly put Naruto down, "Well now, it's been awhile hasn't it…Sister?"

Naruto looked in between them, _'Their siblings? Looking closely they do have the same face.'_

Himeko's eyes twitched then she cracked her knuckles, "You've got some nerve showing your face to me after that stunt you pulled you brat."

The three kids tilted their heads in confusion but Kamui smiled, "Oh, you still remember that?"

A tick mark appeared on her forehead and she released a murderous aura that made the kids step back and hide behind a tree, while Kamui simply smiled, "Well…I'll see you kids later!" he ran off with an enraged red head following right after him.

"KAMUI! GET BACK HERE!" she hollered.

Naruto, Hinata, and Gaara all came from hiding from behind the tree and stared in absolute confusion, "What was that about?" the blonde wondered.

"I-I'm not sure." Hinata said.

"Adult minds are a mystery." Gaara stated.

"Sure…" Naruto said unsurely to his friend.

* * *

While the rest of the Uzumaki clan were somewhere else in the village creating their very own compound, the clan head Toshihiro Uzumaki was in the middle of conversing with the other clan heads. The man did attract a lot of attention not that he cared because he was more excited in meeting his great-grandson, but before he could the clan heads asked to have lunch and he had no choice but to agree.

Toshihiro sighed, "What troublesome day this is turned out to be."

"That's my line, Toshihiro-sama." Shikaku chuckled putting his sake down.

"Drop the "Sama" kid, simply calling me Toshihiro is fine." The man smiled.

"I must admit that your entrance was something else, not to mention you scared the hell out of those on the civilian council." Chōza commented.

"Hmph, but of course. Their lucky I didn't out right kill them because trust me I would have love to do so." Toshihiro took a sip of his sake.

Hiashi sighed, "I must say that I was surprised to hear the things they did to the boy. Fools can't tell the difference between a child and a tailed beast, it's the same as not seeing a kunai and a sealing scroll."

"Your damn right." Tsume growled.

Inoichi sighed himself, "If the Yondaime could see how the village treats his son now this entire village would be burned to the ground."

"Agreed." Shibi said.

 **Flashback**

 _"_ _Now then, the purpose of us coming here is that we will be taking residence here in Konoha so that we may remain close to our relatives. Do you disagree?" Toshihiro stared at Hiruzen._

 _"_ _No complaints at all." Hiruzen spoke up before Danzo could say anything because he was about to._

 _"_ _Good. We will also be building our own compound and it will be next to the Senju compound that's still around and standing." He turned to Tsunade who merely smiled._

 _Hiruzen nodded, "That's also fine, is that's all then-"_

 _"_ _Wait." Danzō spoke up making Hiruzen, Koharu, Homura, Hiashi, and Shikaku to narrowed their eyes at him._

 _"_ _Danzō, do you have something to say?" Hiruzen asked._

 _"_ _Yes, if you wish to take up residence here in Konoha then you are obligated to share your Fūinjutsu with us." He told them._

 _"_ _That will not happen." Toshihiro stated._

 _"_ _And why not?"_

 _"_ _Because our Fūinjutsu are clan secrets that belong to us only much like the Byakugan, only members of our clan are allowed to use our unique Fūinjutsu and no one else." The red haired man proclaimed._

 _Danzō narrowed his eyes at the man, "If you wish to take residents here in Konoha then you are obligated to-"_

 _"_ _Danzō Shimura." Toshihiro interrupted coldly the temperature in the room dropping dramatically, "It would be in your best interest not to make me_ _ **angry**_ _." If possible the temperature in the room dropped even more if that was even possible._

 _Koharu and Homura were cursing Danzō for his stupidity; this is the same man that destroyed an entire village by himself when they threatened one of his clan members! Damn fool!_

 _Hiruzen found the strength in him to cough getting everyone's attention back on him again, "Ignore what Danzō said Toshihiro-sama! There's no need for you to share your Fūinjutsu with us, if its only for clan member use only then we have no right to force you to show us."_

 _Toshihiro ceased his bloodlust completely, "Good. Since you've agreed to our terms I will inform those we have stationed that it's okay to stand down and come into the village."_

 _"_ _Thank you, this meeting is now adjourned." Hiruzen announced._

 **Now**

Shikaku thought back to what happened at the council meeting room, _'That War hawk almost leveled this village to the ground with his greed. It's a drag, but I better keep an eye on him for Naruto's sake.'_

Toshihiro took one last sip of his sake and gave all the clan heads a serious look, "I noticed there's no longer an Uchiha clan here in the village."

All the clan heads tensed before Shikaku spoke up about the subject, "I'm not surprised you don't know about it, so I'll fill you in since you're the current head of your clan _._ The entire Uchiha clan was completely wiped out overnight. Every man, woman, and child weren't spared in the attack with the exception of Sasuke Uchiha who was the only survivor."

"Interesting," Toshihiro said, "And? Who was the one to slaughter the clan in cold blood?"

"The boy's own brother," Hiashi spoke up, "Itachi Uchiha."

The red haired man sighed, "How ironic, the Uchiha clan wiped out by one of their own. People always believed the Senju clan would do the deed seeing as how both clans never go along all that well with the exception of Hashirama and Madara, but even that friendship didn't even last long."

"I hear ya," Shikaku agreed, "Still can't believe the kid would murder his own people with the exception of his younger brother. It doesn't make sense."

"I agree, its logical to kill everyone and leave no one alive for fear the survivor would come and seek vengeance." Shibi added his two cents.

Inoichi turned to him; "It amazes me you can say things like that so casually like your talking about the weather."

"I have to agreed with him on that one." Chōza agreed.

Toshihiro sighed, "Regardless of your logic, its best that someone keep an eye on the boy. There's no telling what horror's he was forced to see at such a young age. That sort of trauma stays with a child until their adulthood, and if something isn't done soon then there will be no telling what he'll do if god forbid those two ever meet face to face or how his behavior will effect those around him."

"I agree with your reasoning but the civilian council are being rather annoying when it comes to the boy." Hiashi informed.

Tsume snorted, "I'll say, do they think our children are chopped liver or something?"

"The civilian council are nothing more but ignorant fools," Toshihiro sighed, "Honestly, I'll never understand why that _fool_ created the civilian council in the first place."

"By fool are you referring to the Shodaime?" Shikaku asked just to be sure.

"He's the only one I call fool, so yes." The man said.

The clan heads sweat-dropped at the man, but they had to wonder what the Shodaime was like when he was alive. Toshihiro stood up snapping them back to reality, "Well I must be off to check up on the others, I appreciate the talk. I must admit it has been quite enjoyable."

"The pleasures ours. We should get together again soon." Shibi said.

"I think we should as well, this was a very productive conversation." Hiashi smiled slightly.

Toshihiro smiled, "I would very much like that. Farewell." He bowed his head slightly and walked out of the bar and walked through an alleyway of the village before he came to a stop, "Seizan." Water gathered from behind him revealing a figure whose skin was dark blue appeared from the ground and bowed towards the man. The figure had a feminine physique with long light blue hair, azure eyes, wearing a blue battle kimono with dragon patterns all over them.

"Toshihiro-sama." Seizan said in a monotone tone of voice.

"Report." He said simply.

"Sir. Shimura Danzō plans to send his ROOT members around the compound as soon as the others are finished building it. He also plans to have them monitor Naruto-sama." She reported.

"Figures. Damn War hawk intends to control my great-grandson but I won't let that happen," He turned to her, "Did you get anymore information than that?"

"Yes," she brought out a black journal from her sleeve, "I managed to secure this from a secured room, though I must say the security was quite pathetic." She handed it over to the man who skimmed through it with a scowl present on his face before closing the black journal.

"I see he lives up to his nickname as the "War Hawk," because this proves it completely," he rubbed his temples, "Send this to Nobu so he can make copies of what you've just shown me. We'll need the copies in the near future." He gave it back to her.

"Sir. Is there something else I may do for you?" she asked.

"No, there's nothing else."

"Then I shall take my leave." She sunk back into the ground leaving the man alone to his thoughts.

"I gave you a warning War Hawk, ignore it and this information I gathered won't be only thing you have to worry about. That's a promise." Toshihiro growled.

* * *

 **Next Time: Clan Training!**


	5. Prologue: Clan Training!

Hinata accepts Naruto for who he is and Kamui makes friends with Anko. Toshihiro has warned the war hawk, but it seems to have been ignored but it seems the clan head has prepared something for the old fool. This is the last Prologue by the way.

* * *

Kamui was grinning from ear to ear walking down the streets of Konoha having Naruto and Gaara perched on each shoulder while Hinata walked by Himeko's side who was still pissed off at the red haired boy. Kamui didn't miss the hateful looks the villagers gave them or specifically Naruto, so he sent a burst of killing intent telling them in an unspoken word, 'Try anything and you die,' making them turn their heads away from the boy not wanting to be killed. Naruto wasn't paying attention to the hateful glares mostly because he was really happy to have found another family member, well in this case he found Naruto but he was still happy. Gaara had gotten comfortable with Kamui as well sensing the boy wasn't a threat and was an ally that would protect his best friend. Hinata felt comfortable around Kamui herself even though he scared her a little she could sense he would be willing to fight for his family should they be in danger, even from the villagers. The real question was just what did he do to Himeko to provoke her into chasing him all around the village it was only a miracle she stopped chasing him, probably because the three children caught up with them an told them to stop that Himeko relented from chasing him any further but she still glared at him every once in awhile.

Kamui smiled up at Naruto, "So tell me Otōto, how do you feel about being an Uzumaki?"

Naruto blinked, "How do I feel about it?"

"Mm."

The boy thought about it then smiled, "I love my last name because it connects me with all of you."

Himeko smiled at the boy's answer as did Kamui, "Good thing to say, don't you think Nee-chan?"

"That's "Nee-san" to you brat!" she growled.

"Hai hai." He smiled pissing her off.

"You little-!" Himeko was this close to throttling him when a person wearing a black cloak with the Uzumaki clan symbol on the back appeared before them and bowed.

"Kamui-sama, Himeko-sama, and Naruto-sama," the voice sounded feminine, "Toshihiro-sama has asked for your presence along with Naruto-sama's friends."

Naruto blinked in confusion, "Who's that?"

Himeko answered with tears in her eyes with a smile, "He's your great-grandfather, Naruto."

He looked at her with a surprised look on his face, "Great-grandfather…? I have one?"

"Of course," Kamui smiled, "We're on our way now."

"Understood." The figure disappeared in a burst of wind taking the children by surprise.

"A-Amazing…" Hinata stared.

Himeko grabbed her hand gently, "Come on, let's get going."

"Actually, if your trying to go to the house you were in before there's no point because the old man's probably moved all of your stuff into the compound." Kamui told her.

"Compound?" Naruto, Gaara, and Hinata tilted their heads in confusion.

Himeko was curious herself, "We have a compound?"

Kamui smirked, "We do now."

 **Uzumaki Compound**

Naruto stared up at the compound in awe.

The place looked amazing and reminded him of the Hyūga compound a little bit and the Uzumaki symbol was plastered proudly on the walls in red making him smile. He had his own clan home, something he never had before. He couldn't stop the smile that crept to his face, his friends Hinata and Gaara were happy for him because he finally had a family and a home to call his own.

Kamui placed both boys down, "Now that we're here we should head inside. The old man can be real annoying if kept waiting." He walked through the entrance right along with Himeko and the kids, Kamui smirked as he felt the barrier activate as soon as they walked through entrance.

 _'_ _Looks like the old man set up a barrier preventing anyone from getting in unless their of Uzumaki blood. The only reason Sand boy and Hyūga-hime got in is because they were given permission. Wonder which one of the old geezers pissed the old man off?'_ Kamui thought.

Naruto's eyes wondered all around the inside of the place and saw giant tree's and a garden with flowers, some of them were really beautiful. Wonder if they'd let him water the plants for them? It wasn't just that, the Uzumaki clan had a whole district to themselves just like the Uchiha clan did before they were killed. He saw people with red hair walking around with smiling faces setting up things everywhere they even had their own homes which were traditional and pretty small. Looking ahead of him he saw a house that was bigger than the others and couldn't help but look up in awe, as did Hinata and Gaara. Kamui smiled seeing their reaction and the same was said of Himeko, it amazed Kamui how the old man was able to create the compound so quickly, but then again his great-gramps could be considered inhuman to some even those amongst his own clan so this shouldn't surprise him. That or he had help in making completing the compound so quickly, that was another possibility.

As they walked to the entrance of the larger house in the compound there were two guards who were wearing masks, both of them bowed respectfully as they passed them and opened the sliding door before closing it behind them. Walking through the hallway they stopped at another sliding door and Kamui opened it revealing a man with long red hair that was in a low ponytail wearing a black hakama that had the Uzumaki symbols on the shoulders while one was on his back. Looking closely you can see some wrinkles on his face but they weren't all that visible proving the Uzumaki clan's long lives weren't just a rumor but fact. The man smiled as soon as all of them walked in and sat down before him, "Its good to finally see you Naruto, Himeko."

Himeko smiled and had to force the tears from coming, "You as well…Toshihiro-sama."

Toshihiro rolled his eyes, "Please, call me great-grandfather."

Naruto smiled shyly, "H-Hijiji."

Toshihiro bellowed with laughter, "Yes, like that! As expected of my great-grandson!"

Kamui smiled, "Mm, Otōto's got it down. All but Himeko-baasan."

She whacked him upside the head; "You will address me as "Nee-san," you brat!"

Toshihiro rolled his eyes, "You two haven't changed at all. Anyway, let me introduce you to the people gathered here before us." He turned to his left giving the person next to him permission to speak first.

The person next to him was a male with short red hair and silver eyes wearing a dark green hakama, he bowed to Naruto, "It's good to see your well Naruto, my name is Nobu Uzumaki."

Naruto bowed back to the man, "Nobu-ojisan."

Nobu smiled.

The person on Toshihiro's other side was a female with long red hair that was in a high ponytail wearing a red and yellow kimono, "Hey there, my name is Anzu Uzumaki. I'm your cousin."

Naruto smiled at her, "Anzu-san."

Anzu squealed, "So cute~!"

The boy next to her rolled his eyes, "You are so childish."

"What was that, Kuro?!" Anzu growled.

"My names not Kuro, its Rokuro." Rokuro sighed. His red hair was in a high bun with two strands on each side of his face. He looked at Naruto, "My full name is Rokuro Uzumaki and by unfortunate luck I am related to the person sitting next to me."

Anzu grabbed his dark blue hakama, "Why you little-!"

"Enough," a voice cut them off, "You are both behaving like children," the man had on a black and white hakama, while his red hair reached his shoulders. His eyes were pale orange, "I am Nobuyuki Uzumaki, your uncle."

Naruto smiled at the man, "Nice to meet you."

"You as well."

Toshihiro coughed into his fist getting everyone's attention, "Naruto, when we found out that you were here living in Konoha we came here immediately. And I am happy to see you here as well Himeko."

"That should be my line, great-grandfather," she smiled, "I thought I was the only Uzumaki around but then I found Naruto and now here you all are. But how did you know we were in Konoha?"

"We had one of our scouts do a wide search of the many Hidden Villages until we lucked out and found you both here in Konoha." Kamui smiled.

"Scouts?" Naruto tilted his head.

Just then Seizan emerged before them taking the children and Himeko by surprise, the woman bowed politely to them, "Please forgive me for startling you, Naruto-sama. My name is Seizan."

Naruto was still surprised this woman just appeared from water but bowed his head politely to her, "N-Nice to meet you, Seizan-san."

"You may call me Seizan, Naruto-sama." Seizan said her voice monotone.

Toshihiro chuckled, "Seizan is special which you've already noticed, but she's not the only one either. You see Seizan and the others like her have served the Uzumaki clan for generations. She not only serves us but you as well."

Seizan bowed before Naruto once again confirming his statement.

Himeko stared at the woman finding it interesting that this woman and others like her served the Uzumaki clan so faithfully over the years. That also meant that she wasn't human, but then again Himeko could tell she wasn't human anyway.

Seizan eyed Hinata making he girl stiff in place, "The blood of the Hyūga, Toshihiro-sama is this girl?"

"Correct, its faint but I can feel she's a distant descendant of Hamura Ōtsutsuki." Toshihiro smiled at the girl.

Hinata managed not to show any reaction from the fact that she was right, she remembered dreaming about the man but not much else.

"Huh, I thought the girl's eyes looked familiar." Anzu commented.

"Naturally seeing as how she's a Hyūga." Rokuro rolled his eye pissing Anzu off.

Toshihiro sighed then smiled at Hinata, "Forgive these two for their lack of manners young one."

"I-It's okay." Hinata assured him.

"She's a kind and well-mannered child, unlike you two." Nobuyuki was referring to Rokuro and Anzu.

"Hey!" Anzu yelled.

Rokuro said nothing.

Toshihiro smiled at the girl, _'From what the scroll's said, Hamura Ōtsutsuki wanted unity amongst his descendants. His descendants on the moon were probably unified, but I can't say the same for the Hyūga Ichizoku here on earth. I should probably say this to Hiashi soon, that the key to unifying the Main and Brach house…is through her.'_ He thought, "Hinata, would you like to train here with Naruto and Gaara as well?"

"Eh?" Hinata and Gaara blinked.

"How did you know about me?" Gaara wondered.

"Boy, we know everything. There is nothing no one can hide from us because of our unique way of gathering information," Rokuro stated, "Anyway, you will be trained by Nobuyuki in Taijutsu even though you were probably already trained in it its best to do more. As for your sand, we have acquired a scroll from Suna a long time ago that has the jutsu's for both Gold Dust and Iron Sand. You probably have something about Gold Dust considering who your father is but we wanted to give this to you anyway, and from what we've heard about your previous Kazekage before him he was proficient in Iron Sand. Would you be willing to accept?"

Gaara didn't need much convincing, "I will."

Anzu grinned, "Then its settled! Let's get to it then!"

* * *

Anzu was pouting. Why is she pouting you ask? Simple, because she wanted to be the one to train Hinata Hyūga but the girl was more comfortable with Himeko so there was nothing she could do. Currently she along with the other members of the clan were watching Hinata use pure Taijutsu against Himeko, Naruto was also using pure Taijutsu with Kamui who volunteered to train the boy in hand to hand combat, and Gaara was being trained by Nobuyuki in controlling both his mental state and sand even though the kid's pretty much got it down.

"Will you stop pouting already?" Nobu sighed having grown tired of her sulking.

"But its not fair~! I wanted to be the one to train Hinata-chan! She's so cute!" Anzu whined.

Nobu simply sighed shaking his head.

Rokuro sipped on his green tea, "We should be grateful it's Himeko training the girl and not you. We don't need the child to be scarred for life."

"Why you little brat! You trying to start something?!" Anzu grabbed his collar.

Toshihiro whacked them both lightly on their heads, "That is enough, Anzu Hinata asked for Himeko because the girl sees her as not just a teacher but a mother figure she can look up to. Respect the child's decision."

Anzu pouted crossing her arms, "Fine."

The man sighed and sat down next to Rokuro who passed him the second cup of green tea he made along with his own.

"But still," Nobu observed the children, "They seem eager to train, especially young Gaara and Hinata. Do you think it has something to do with Naruto's influence?"

"I believe so yes," Toshihiro gave his great-grandson a fond look, "The two of them look perfect together don't you think? I should talk to Hiashi about setting up an arranged marriage for those two."

All three sweat-dropped at him.

 **With Hinata & Himeko**

"Don't lose focus Hinata!" Himeko told the girl.

"Hai!" Hinata came at Himeko again using her Juken family style Taijutsu. She could feel herself improving from what she was before which was a good sign, even her stamina was steadily improving. She came at Himeko again sending a kick to her side but the red haired woman side stepped out the way about to send a punch to the girl but Hinata surprised her by ducking and striking her with a Juken strike impressing her even though it hurt like hell.

"Good job! Keep it up!" Himeko praised.

"Hai!" Hinata came at her again trying to once again strike one of her chakra points while also dodging the woman's punches as well as kicks. She knew from experience that Himeko was no pushover and stronger than she looks, so she had to be very careful. Meeting strike for strike Himeko sent a kick at the girl and Hinata managed to duck under the kick and got in close.

 _'_ _I got her!'_ Hinata thought, "Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)!"

"Ni Sho (Two Palms)!"

"Yon Sho (Four Palms)!"

"Hachi Sho (Eight Palms)!"

"Jūroku Sho (Sixteen Palms)!"

"Sanjūni Sho (Thirty-Two Palms)!"

"Rokujūnyon Sho (Sixty-Four Palms)!"

As soon as she finished with her attack Himeko went skidding back away from her but just like what happened before the woman used the Substitution and was replaced by a log. Hinata didn't have time to be shocked because she just barely ducked under a kick from behind and jumped away from the woman.

Himeko smiled, "Very impressive Hinata. You were able to sense me from behind."

Hinata blinked in confusion her Byakugan still activated, she was trying to figure out herself how she was even able to sense the woman was behind her but figure out how.

"Ready to continue?" Himeko snapped her out of her thoughts getting into stance.

Hinata decided not to think too much about it and into stance, but then got out of it when Himeko got in a thinking pose.

"Is there something wrong, Himeko-san?" Hinata asked.

"Hm? Oh, well I was thinking that the way you move is so fluid and calm like flowing water. Your also very nimble, not to mention you've become quite calm when you spar now which is a great improvement if I do say so myself." Himeko smiled.

Hinata gave her a grateful smile, never before had she been complimented before. Not even by her own father.

Himeko was still thinking, _'Now that I think about it, the way she moves can be helpful in battle and can take her enemies off guard, and can control the flow of battle. Besides the way she moves is that of a dancer who's calm and composed, moving with such grace and elegance. I wonder…'_

"Hinata."

"Yes?"

"How would you like to learn how to fight with a fan as your signature weapon like how Naruto uses his staff?" Himeko smiled.

"Eh?"

 **With Gaara**

Nobuyuki told Gaara to meditate so he can control his mental state and be able to stay calm in battle because your opponent will take advantage of a person's mental state in order to control the flow of battle the way they see fit. The man has seen it way too many times and knew that these kids especially Gaara and Naruto needed to keep their mental state clear and calm. He knew his nephew was a "Jinchūriki" the very word made him feel absolute disgust. The Bijū aren't weapons to be sealed inside people, reading from Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki's scrolls he created all nine to prevent the Jūbi from regaining its power and to be sent to Genbu or Shimagame (Island Turtle) so that they wouldn't be disturbed. But that only went for the Ichibi to Hachibi, the Kyūbi or Kurama according to Mito-sama who had written down his name in her journal stayed and resided in Uzushiogakure because the Uzumaki Ichizoku knew that Kurama was just as much family as they were. They actually kept Kurama out at all times and the children of the village loved him dearly, but maybe that was their mistake because _that man_ came with the pretense of uniting their clans and stealing Mito-sama away from them. Mito had no choice but to seal Kurama within her and he knew deep down she hated it, but she had no choice because Madara Uchiha manipulated Kurama into fighting Hashirama but the man used his Mokuton to subdue and free Kurama from being under the Mangekyō Sharingan's control. He also knew that deep down Toshihiro-sama probably hated the man for taking her away from her family to live here in Konohagakure. Nobuyuki didn't really care for this pathetic village at all, but his nephew and niece were living here so he had no choice but to come and would have taken them away from this hellhole until Toshihiro-sama said he personally knew the Hokage and Tsunade Senju who he had no problems with at all. It was her grandfather he wasn't so fond of and neither was Toshihiro-sama.

And to make things worse that damn Sandaime had Kushina seal Kurama inside herself this time. Even though Mito-sama was getting old he knew that deep down she didn't want to seal Kurama within Kushina but had no choice. Hopefully Kushina didn't hate Kurama for anything that he himself couldn't help.

"Nobuyuki-san?" Gaara called out to the man snapping him out of his trance.

"Yes, what is it?" Nobuyuki questioned.

Gaara shook his head, "I felt it…your anger."

Nobuyuki's eyes widened but then went back to normal, "I…am a little angry. But, I'm angry at this village for how they've treated my nephew that's all."

Gaara looked at him, "I'm angry too. My old home treated me the same as Naruto, but for Naruto I feel as though his situation is much worse than my experience."

Nobuyuki sighed looking up at the sky, "I feel as though you're right about that, Gaara."

 **With Naruto**

Naruto ducked under Kamui's kick, but just barely. His older brother's no pushover that's for sure; the boy wondered how he got this strong? Despite his small size he was doing pretty well with not getting his and just meeting blow for blow and even dodging but even he knew he couldn't keep it up for very long.

Naruto jumped away from Kamui breathing a little heavy but didn't look all that tired making the red haired boy before him smile.

"You're doing really well Naruto-kun." Kamui smiled.

Naruto returned the smile, "Thanks Kamui-nii."

Kamui came at Naruto again prompting the boy to block his punch and then his kick before the boy sent his own punches and kicks at the red haired boy. Kamui was impressed that Naruto was able to keep up so well despite his small size but then again he shouldn't be surprised, he himself was interesting at 7 years old. Naruto tried to send a kick to Kamui's side but the red head sidestepped out of the way to avoid the kick. Naruto ducked under another kick that was sent by Kamui and tried to punch him but the older boy disappeared taking Naruto off guard. He tried looking around to see where he was until he sensed someone behind him and knew it was too late to duck so he tried blocking it but something weird happened. As soon as Naruto brought up both arms to block Kamui's kick the older boy jumped back with a look of amazement on his face, looking around he saw his great-grandfather and the other members of the clan had a look of awe on their faces but in his great-grandfather's case he was smiling from ear to ear. Confused he looked behind him and saw two gold chains protruding from his back.

Naruto stared at the gold chains and brought his hand up to touch one, as soon as he did he felt warm for some reason. Not only that, but the chain wrapped around his wrist almost protectively, "Wow…"

Toshihiro came over to them still smiling, "So you did inherit Kushina's kekkei genkai."

"Kekkei genkai? You mean a bloodline? These chains were my mom's?" Naruto stared at his great-grandfather.

"Yes actually," Toshihiro said, "Those were her signature chains, Kongō Fūsa (Adamantine Sealing Chains)."

"Kongō Fūsa?" Naruto questioned.

"Yes, those chain sprouting from your back are created from your very chakra and can be used for combat or restraining enemies. Believe it or not they can even restrain the Bijū." Toshihiro stated.

 ** _"_** ** _It's true."_** Naruto heard Kurama say and knew that if his partner confirmed it then it was true.

"It can even bind an opponents chakra completely neutralizing them," Toshihiro continued, "Kushina was also able to create a barrier strong enough to prevent anyone or anything from entering or leaving the barrier once it's up. It's also very durable just like the chains. I never thought I'd see them again but here they are."

Naruto noticed the chain was still wrapped around his wrist while the other chain circle around him almost protectively, "Um, I'm not controlling them right now. Are they supposed to move on their own?"

"Hmmm," Toshihiro had a theory so he had his hand stretched out to rub the boy's head but the chain that was circling him was literally in his face taking him and Kamui by surprise, not only that but two more chains sprouted from the boy's back and were ready to attack if necessary, "I see."

"Gramps?" Kamui looked at him.

"It would appear that Naruto's chains are different from Kushina's," the old man stated, "Naruto can sprout them at will but it appears the chains have minds of their own and act on instinct to protect their master. I don't even think Kushina's chains were capable of doing something like this."

Naruto tried willing the chains to stop trying to hurt his great-grandfather and surprisingly they listened and retreated into his back making him blink.

"It tingled a little but it didn't hurt, why?" Naruto wondered.

Toshihiro smiled, "I see, those chains had some residue of Kushina's chakra imbedded in them while also combining with yours. It's the same for Gaara."

"Huh?" Naruto and Kamui looked at him in utter confusion.

"I'm assuming that maybe the boy's mother left some residue chakra within him when he was just a babe to protect him via sand," Toshihiro explained, "It would explain a few things."

Naruto thought about it and he was right, Gaara's sand wall felt warm and kind like a mother's love. He smiled, "Should we tell Gaara?"

Toshihiro looked over at Nobuyuki and Gaara, "I think Nobu can take care of it, that also means those chains of yours will come sprouting out of your back if they sense any hostilities around you whether they be ninja or civilians."

Kamui may or may not have smirked at the mention of civilians, he had to admit what they would say when they see his little brother use his aunt's classical chakra chains. It would teach them a lesson should they try something.

* * *

 ** _Day 2_**

Training with the clan was a lot tougher than Naruto realized. Toshihiro wanted him to work on controlling his own version of his mother's chakra chains, so he did. He summoned two first before moving on to the higher numbers, its best to take things slow instead of rushing. Summoning two was pretty easy fighting with them he had to practice so Kamui was there to spar with him while he had two chains out. By the afternoon he was able to fight with two chains protruding from his back with no problems at all. After eating lunch and resting he got right back to work and summoned two more chains, so now he has four chains out. After a awhile he got the hang of using the chains in combat and started summoning another two chains, so now he has six out. Kamui tried to hit him from behind on his blind spot but the chains acted on their own protecting him by wrapping around Kamui's leg and tossing him aside but he got right back up with a proud smile on his face making Naruto smile. He was having no complaints about training with the chakra chains but there was something else he needed to work on too.

And that is…

"Naruto, why don't we work on your dōjutsu a little bit today." Toshihiro suggested.

Naruto nodded, "Okay." He told his great-grandfather yesterday about how he had the Rinnegan taking some of them off guard but nevertheless the old man insisted on being the one to train his eyes.

So here Naruto was staring at one of log posts his brother laid out for him, he was staring at it with anticipation.

"You've probably already know the paths the Rinnegan use, so I won't bother explaining it to you. But I think you need to practice because you'll need to use them out there in the real world, understand?" Toshihiro said.

"Yes, Toshihiro-hijiji." Naruto nodded.

"Good. Now activate the Rinnegan."

Naruto did what he was told and activated his dōjutsu.

"First, we'll work on the Tendō (Deva Path). And the first technique you need to get the hang of is Shinra Tensei." The man explained.

"Okay."

"Lift up your hand and have your palm face the wooden log." He instructed.

Naruto did as he was told.

"Now, say "Shinra Tensei." He ordered.

Naruto took a deep breath, "Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)!" sending chakra to his hand he sent a repulsive force at the log and actually put a hole in it!

The blonde boy was taken by surprise, he wasn't expecting that! "H-Hijiji…that was…"

"Hoh, that was pretty impressive." Toshihiro leaned in observing the hole.

"Impressive? So it's supposed to do that?" Naruto questioned.

"Of course, but there are some drawbacks to the technique. While it's effective sure, there's a minimal time period, which is about five seconds. But it depends on amount of power of the attack." Toshihiro informed.

Naruto looked back at the hole then his hand, "That felt…weird."

"I'm sure, but you need to practice this."

"Okay."

"Now try again."

"Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)!" he tried again but it wasn't as powerful as the first time, which was to be expected, but that's why he was practicing.

Toshihiro smiled then looked over at Kamui, "How's the young heiress doing?"

Kamui grinned, "From what I saw, she seems to be doing fine."

 **With the Hinata**

Hinata was practicing with her new Tessen which was a metal fan but its wasn't that big and just the perfect size for her to use. The fan was light blue while the symbol on it was the ying-yang symbol in the middle. She and Himeko were practicing dodging projectiles with the fan as well as blocking them, and so far she was doing a pretty good job. She was able to block both shuriken and kunai with the fan but she was also able to move around as though she were dancing. She was panting but didn't want to quit just yet and kept going.

Himeko smiled with pride, "Your improving quite well Hinata, I'm very proud of you."

Hinata gave her a tired smile, "Thank you…"

"Do you wanna take a break or keep going?" she asked.

Hinata shook her head, "I can keep going! Please!"

Himeko's eyes widened then smiled, _'Naruto really is a good influence.'_ She thought, "Okay, now you said there was a new defense technique you wanted to work on with me, right?"

"Yes! After I went home yesterday I waited until all of the members of my clan were asleep and left in the middle of the night to work on it, and I've managed to get it to work though it still tires me out." Hinata explained.

"No problem, that's why we're training." She smiled.

Hinata put her fan inside her shirt, "Please throw your weapons at me!"

"Alright!" Himeko jumped back and threw two kunai which Hinata managed block with her bare hands so Himeko sent more and more without holding back just like the girl wanted. Hinata took a deep breath and concentrated her chakra to do her new technique and prayed that it would work. Himeko sent more kunai at her as well as shuriken.

Hinata's eyes were closed, her Byakugan activated as she concentrated keeping calm of the projectiles coming towards her. Sensing the projectiles coming in fast she opened her eyes, "Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō (Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)!" she created a constant stream of chakra from her palms, which formed thin, sharp, blades. Shaping her chakra she created a shield around her while at the same time cutting the projectiles that came towards her. After a while she stopped the technique seeing she cut the kunai and shuriken in half that came at her, she fell to her knees, "I-I did it…"

"Yes you did," Himeko approached, "That was really impressive Hinata, I'm so proud of you and I'm sure Naruto would be too when he sees it."

Hinata smiled then closed her eyes prompting Himeko to catch her before she fell to the ground, "You really are amazing, sleep well."

 **With Gaara**

Nobuyuki nodded in approval at Gaara's improvement with his meditation as well as chakra control. He was this close to perfecting his Gold Dust sand but it still needed more work. He found out from the boy that he could gather the minerals from underneath the ground and add it to his sand, gathering the hardest minerals possible for his sand defense. Impressive.

"You're doing really well, Gaara." Nobuyuki complimented.

"Thank you." Gaara bowed politely.

Nobuyuki was glad the boy had good manners, "Your manners are better than Kamui's that's for damn sure."

Gaara chuckled, "Kamui-san has an interesting personality doesn't he?"

"More like irritating but nothing I didn't expect from the brat," Nobuyuki shook his head, "Anyway Gaara, do you know if there's anyone bothering my nephew?"

Gaara's face immediately became serious taking Nobuyuki by surprise, since when did this kid adopt such a serious expression?

"Sasuke Uchiha," Gaara stated coldly, "He's a danger to Naruto, that is what I truly believe."

Nobuyuki's eyes twitched, "Uchiha?"

Gaara nodded.

The man narrowed his eyes, _'One of Indra's descendants is here in Konoha? What does this mean?'_

"Nobuyuki-san?" Gaara called out.

The man snapped out of it, "Sorry, I was lost in thought. Let's continue training with your sand."

"Okay."

Nobuyuki still couldn't shake this uneasy feeling coming off of him, _'Naruto who is Asura's descendant and Sasuke Uchiha who is Indra's descendant. Something feels wrong about this.'_

* * *

 ** _Day 3_**

"Your doing well Naruto," Toshihiro said to the boy, "You've pretty much got the hang of Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in. Now we'll work on the Shuradō (Asura Path) which isn't very easy along with the rest of the paths." Toshihiro stated.

Naruto nodded his Rinnegan active.

"For this path it involves creating mechanized limbs or armor. For now we'll see if we can get you to created mechanical limbs." Toshihiro said.

Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated to created limbs and only managed to create one limb that sprouted under his right arm, it wasn't what he wanted to do but it was close enough, he's actually surprised he was able to make one at all.

Toshihiro nodded in approval, "Good, try moving it around a bit."

Raising his right arm he tried to will the third limb to move and it did if only a little bit, the upside to this was because it was making mechanical noises much to his excitement, "It feels weird, but at the same time amazing."

Toshihiro chuckled, "I'm sure."

Naruto smiled.

"Naruto, there are three paths I think you should avoid using until your older." Toshihiro told the boy.

Naruto blinked, "Which ones?"

"The Ningendō (Human Path), Jigokudō (Naraka Path), and Gedō (Outer Path)." Toshihiro stated sternly.

Naruto understood why he would need to avoid those three, after hearing Kurama explain each path to him those three made him feel a little uncomfortable but when he's older he'll be able to handle it using them. Willing the third limb away he nodded his head firmly.

Toshihiro smiled, "Thank you for understanding, now then let's work on the Chikushōdō (Animal Path) shall we?"

"How does that one work? Do I need to summon an animal?" Naruto wondered.

Instead of answering the boy's question he laid down a scroll in front of him and used it to summon a dead brown bird he found lying around somewhere.

Naruto looked at the bird sadly, "It's dead."

Toshihiro lifted the bird with both hands, "Yes…this poor thing had a broken wing from what I see but I don't know who killed it and I don't know if someone broke its wing intentionally so they could kill it." He sounded sad himself.

"Why did you summon it?" Naruto questioned.

"Listen to me closely Naruto, for the animal path to work you'll need to summon a chakra receiver if you want to save it, you can use it on summoning animals too but only if their dead." Toshihiro told him.

"Chakra receiver?" Naruto tilted his head.

"Only those with the Rinnegan can create and use them," Toshihiro stated, "It allows you to transmit your chakra into the receivers by extension and into those whom the receivers have been embedded in. it can be transmitted across vast distances, though it's best if stay nearby just in case."

"How do I make them?" the boy asked.

"According to Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki's tablet on the Rinnegan abilities, your able to sprout them from your hands and can make them small or big." He stated.

Naruto stared at his hand and took a deep breath, "Kuroi Jushinki (Black Needle)." A black need that was the same size as the bird sprouted from his hand, once it finished materializing he held it in his hand and stared at the little bird. Holding his hand out the tall man handed the bird over to the boy who held the little thing with care. This wouldn't be the first little animal Naruto cradled in his grasp, and often wondered if he would end up just like that himself. Dead. All alone.

He hesitated to put the black needle in the animal but couldn't help himself but do it, so he stuck it in the birds injured wing. The black needle was hanging out of it but if he managed to bring it back to life with the Animal Path then it didn't matter. He looked up at the man wondering what he should say.

"Now then, bite your thumb to draw blood and place it on the bird and simply say, "Kuchiyose Rinnegan (Summoning Saṃsāra Eye)."

Naruto nodded and bit his thumb drawing blood and drawing a straight line on the bird's stomach, "Kuchiyose Rinnegan (Summoning Saṃsāra Eye)." Blue chakra surrounded the little bird and white smoke soon appeared so Naruto removed his hand to see the bird staring right at him making him smile, "It's alive again…" he scratched underneath the birds chin making it close its eyes in content. He stopped stroking the bird and it opened its eyes making him actually look at it closely, "It's eyes…"

"That's right, for the Animal Path whatever animal you summon it's eyes will become the same as the Rinnegan allowing you to control them and give orders via the black chakra transmitters that are sticking out of their bodies." The man explained.

"Oh…" Naruto said then rubbed his eyes a little tired.

"Do you want to take a break?" Toshihiro asked.

Naruto shook his head, "No, I'm okay. I can still do some more training."

"Not that I don't doubt you can I still want you take a break, go and check on your friends and relax until we get back to it besides its almost time for lunch anyway." He said.

Naruto nodded and place the bird on his shoulder before running off to see how Gaara and Hinata were doing, the man watched his grandson run off happily, "Watching from the shadows Kamui?"

Kamui jumped down from the tree and smiled, "I've never seen the Rinnegan in action before but I must say it's something else."

"Indeed," Toshihiro turned to him with a serious expression, "Well?"

Kamui shrugged, "That war hawk's persistent I'll give him that but all in all that's about it and I'm not impressed in the least. Sending his lapdogs to do his dirty work is boring and no fun at all."

"It may be boring to you, but that brat intends to use my great-grandson as a weapon and I won't let that happen." The tall man stated with contained fury.

Kamui dropped his smile, "Is that so?"

"Yes."

Kamui started grinning like a madman his eyes showing plain sadism, "In that case I should go play with his little lapdogs then, shouldn't I?"

"Show no mercy." The man ordered coldly.

Kamui said nothing and disappeared from view to go and deal with some dogs that need to be put down. Permanently.

"You are really pushing me war hawk." He said with cold fury.

Unaware of his great-grandfather's silent anger Naruto was busy watching Hinata train along with Gaara who was currently taking a break from his own training.

Gaara noticed the bird on Naruto's shoulder and saw its eyes had the Rinnegan on it as Naruto's, "Naruto, the birds eyes are the same as yours."

Naruto turned to him, "It was dead originally but I brought it back with the Animal Path."

Nobuyuki was impressed, _'He was able to bring the bird to like with using just the animal path? From what I know, those with the Rinnegan have to be master the Hell Path first then control the deceased's bodies. But he was able to do it by only activating the Animal Path. There might be something in Hagoromo's Ōtsutsuki's stone tablet about this information since he was the wielder of the Rinnegan himself.'_

"So you can bring animals back to life?" Gaara asked.

Naruto nodded, "Looks that way."

"Wow."

Nobuyuki was inclined to agree with the boy. Seeing that Gaara was talking with his nephew he walked off to speak with Toshihiro and spotted the man heading towards him.

"Nobuyuki, how is Gaara's training going?" Toshihiro asked.

"The boy picks things up quickly, not to mention he doesn't complain when it's time to meditate unlike Kamui." The man sighed.

Toshihiro can understand because Kamui loves the thrill of battle and strong opponents, but still has deep love for his clan, "Naruto seems to be doing well in training with the Rinnegan."

"So I see," Nobuyuki was referring to the bird with the Rinnegan eyes, "Anyway, you seem troubled by something."

Toshihiro frowned, "It would appear the war hawk didn't take my warning into consideration."

"I'm not surprised. That man is the cancer of this village, an example of corruption and greed. Why Hiruzen allows that old fool to do as he pleases I'll never know." Nobuyuki frowned.

"I want to know as well, but for now we will simply put his lapdogs down as punishment for trying to put their filthy hands on my great-grandson." The man stated.

"I take it you had Kamui deal with the pests?" Nobuyuki inquired.

"I did."

"Then their already dead then." He commented.

Toshihiro got a hard look in his eyes, "I already gave him a warning and he didn't heed it, so now we will eliminate his dogs."

"And hopefully take the head of the hawk." Nobuyuki added.

"Absolutely." Toshihiro agreed.

* * *

 ** _Day 4_**

Naruto had his palm downward, "Kuroi Jushinki (Black Needle)." A small black chakra receiver appeared and fell to the ground making him sigh.

"I still can't seem to make them grow any bigger," he picked up the small black needle, "What am I doing wrong?"

He had been practicing since the early morning and for the life of him he just couldn't get them to grow bigger no matter how hard he tried, at first they were the same size he made for the little bird but after awhile it became a little bigger but as big as he wanted it to be. He was trying to make it the size of a person but so far no such luck.

The little bird landed on his shoulder as if curious to see what he was doing making him smile, "I'm having a hard time trying to make the black needle bigger."

The little bird gestured to the one in its wing then looked at Naruto making the boy nod, "Yep, the very one." looked at the palm of his hand again and tried to make the black needle grow bigger but he only managed to make it only grow a little bit bigger.

Unknown to Naruto his great-grandfather was watching him with a smile, _'He's grown so much in just a short time. Mito-sama, Kushina, the future of the Uzumaki clan rests with him.'_ He watched as the black needle Naruto was trying to make big finally worked and managed to make it the same size as him. He would still need practice to make them just a little bit bigger but he was getting there, so that's a good sign.

Naruto turned his head in his great-grandfather's direction and smiled, "Hijiji!" he walked over to the man as he rubbed the boys head affectionately.

"You working hard aren't you?" the man smiled.

Naruto nodded, "I'm still practicing the techniques the Rinnegan use though, and I'm getting better and better."

"I know. I'm proud of you."

Naruto smiled loving the affection he was getting from his great-grandfather. How long has it been since he craved for affection? He couldn't remember.

"How about the chakra chains?"

"I can summon more of them now," Naruto smiled, "It feels strange…I feel like that everytime I summon them I feel another person's chakra as if their protecting me. It feels nice and warm."

Toshihiro smiled at that, _'That's because of your mother. Motherly instincts are a powerful thing.'_

"Naruto, would you like to work on Fūinjutsu now?" Toshihiro asked.

The boy perked at that, "Yes!"

The man smirked, "Good."

* * *

 ** _Day 5_**

Hinata was thinking.

Why was she thinking?

Well it was because of what Toshihiro-sama as she called him told her yesterday about Naruto and why the villagers hated him. Their clan, the Uzumaki clan were guarded and protected by Kurama or who was better known as the "Kyūbi." They told her the truth about what Kurama's really like and how it was an Uchiha that controlled the giant Bijū 13 years ago. Hinata cried her eyes out because it all made sense now, the hateful glares, th cruel words, and the bruises she would often see him with. She then realized she loved him more now than she ever did before, not to mention respected him for staying sane in this village. She knew that deep down Naruto didn't hate the villagers, but couldn't bring himself to forgive them. Not yet.

She stood up from the porch she was sitting on and went to find Naruto, luckily she didn't need to wait all that long because she found him with Gaara and they were talking about something prompting her to get closer so she could hear what they were talking about.

"She really does care about you," Gaara stated, "I think you should tell her."

Naruto thought about it he really did, but then again there was that dark thought in the back of his head. That kept whispering inside his head, _"She won't accept you. She'll say the same thing as everyone else."_ The very thought of Hinata the first friend he ever made here in the village would think that of him scared him more than anything. He didn't have to think very long because Hinata came walking up to them making him very nervous and scared at the same time.

He took a deep breath, "H-Hinata."

Before he could say anything more she hugged him taking him by surprise while Gaara stood there and watched with a smile, "It's okay, Naruto-kun. I know."

He froze, "Wh-what?"

"I know," she hugged him tighter, "That you were forced to carry a heavy burden, forced to bear the hateful glares of everyone in the village who don't know the real you, forced to listen to their cruel words…I-I hate it!"

"Hinata…"

"I think its unfair you have to suffer because of the villagers," she continued, "Kurama-san's not to blame for what happened to the village, he was being used and couldn't control himself. The villagers believe Kurama-san to be a symbol of hate, but I believe Kurama-san to be a symbol of love."

Inside Naruto's mind Kurama couldn't stop the blush that formed on his face because of the girl's statement.

 ** _'_** ** _Is she an angel?'_** Kurama thought.

"Naruto-kun, no matter what anyone else says. You are Naruto Uzumaki, the person I care for the most in the whole world. It's also okay for you to cry every once in awhile. Don't hold it all in. You don't have to hold it all in all the time. It's okay to be sad, to cry. I'm right here." She looked him right in the eye and smiled.

Naruto felt his chest tighten then all of a sudden his eyes felt watery, and before he knew it he was sniffling then it turned into full blown crying. How long had it been since he cried, since he was four years old? He was seven now, so it had been about four years since he last cried wanting to hold in his tears for so long believing that there was no point in crying anymore because no one would care and that there was no point. But he was wrong. She had proven him wrong. Hinata his very first friend here in Konoha told him that it was okay to cry every once in awhile, and that's exactly what he was doing. Crying. He embraced his female friend making her squeak but nevertheless she hugged him back knowing he needed it and let him cry all he wanted. Looking over at Gaara she saw him smile at her which she returned happily.

Kamui had been watching the whole exchange with a smile of his own, "I knew there was a reason I liked the Hyūga girl."

"Oh really?" Toshihiro approached standing next to the boy, "I was unaware she was your favorite."

"Mm. I like the girl because she sees him for who he is and stay by his side." Kamui said, "We Uzumaki's preferred isolation from people because of our ancestry from Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki and our overall strength. We believed that "love" wouldn't reach us and was nothing more but a foreign concept. Back then everyone believed that an Uzumaki can only love an Uzumaki but Hashirama Senju proved that to be wrong when he saw Mito-obaa-san."

Toshihiro frowned, "That tree hugging fool! I never accepted him into the family."

"You never liked him anyway since the day you two met," Kamui turned to him holding his dark blue umbrella over his head, "I remember this one time you wanted to have a duel with him to prove himself that he was worthy of accepting her hand. Needless to say he did but your still pouting after all these years. How childish."

"You're the last person who should be lecturing anyone about childishness you stupid brat." The man growled.

"Oh, is that so?" Kamui said innocently.

Toshihiro whacked the boy on the back of the head, "As a matter of fact it is so."

He pouted, "Mou, you didn't have to hit me gramps."

"Whatever," the man looked over at his great-grandson, "Kamui, I want you to spend the day with your little brother."

"Finally. All we've done is train so I've been pretty bored. Besides, I'd like scaring the weaklings in this village. Its so much fun." Kamui smiled and walked over by his little brother leaving Toshihiro standing there and shaking his head.

"Damn brat, but then again I suppose I cant exactly blame him for that statement." He looked up at the sky, _'If he does cause problems in the village then Saru will have to deal with it.'_ He made a hand signal and summoned the Uzumaki Guardians. They were their version of Konoha's ANBU but their purpose is to protect and watch over the members of the Uzumaki Ichizoku and watch over them. The five Uzumaki Guardian were wearing fox masks in respect of Kurama.

"I want you five to watch over them while their out in town, the war hawk's lapdogs will be following them I'm sure." He ordered.

"Understood." They all said and disappeared from sight.

Toshihiro sighed, "I'm being patient as I possibly can, but it seems you don't take my threat seriously. That's fine with me. I've already made my move against you and by the time you realize my move it will be too late."

There is a very important rule when dealing with an Uzumaki. NEVER mess with an Uzumaki.

* * *

Kamui was smiling from ear to ear holding his little brother's hand as they walked through the village ignoring the glares that were directed at them. Gaara came along with them which Kamui had no problem with at all, while Hinata stayed behind to spend some time with Himeko. Kamui had his umbrella opened as they walked around prompting Naruto to ask, "Nii-san?"

"Hm?"

"Your umbrella, why do you have it out? Does the sun bother you?" Naruto asked with worry.

"Hmmm, not really. This umbrella used to belong to my mother." He said.

"Really?"

"Yep. She was and always will be the strongest Uzumaki we will ever know, well she comes second to grandma." Kamui thought about his great-grandmother.

"Grandma?"

"Izumi Uzumaki, gramps's wife. She's still alive if your wondering by the way, she said that she wanted to travel for a little while before coming here to see you and the others. But, my mom is dead I'm afraid." Kamui told him.

Naruto couldn't help but smile, he now has a grandmother but was sad that his aunt was dead, "What was auntie's name?"

"Kumiko Uzumaki, and the names fits because she always kept her hair in a high braid but mines better." He grinned.

Naruto chuckled, "Yeah it is."

Kamui looked over and saw a dango shop, "Oh, dango's! Their really good! Why don't we get some?"

"I've never tried dango's before." Naruto admitted.

"Me neither." Gaara added.

Kamui gave them a fake shocked expression, "Then let's get to eating then!" he walked over with the two kids following right behind him. The boy ordered some dango's having had to threaten the man with the promise of mutilation if he didn't stop trying to be strong when he's nothing more than a weakling and give them dango's. Which the man did, Naruto and Gaara were non the wiser. Thank god.

So now here they were eating dango's inside the shop ignoring the people around them but Kamui could see the glares directed at his little brother who ignored them in favor of savoring the dango he was eating for th very first time but he saw Gaara turn his head towards the people and glared right back jut as fiercely making them turn around in fear, but Kamui smiled.

 _'_ _Interesting. The kids proven to be very loyal as well as strong. When he gets over I'll have to spar with him.'_ Kamui thought.

Kamui was brought out of his thoughts when three idiots decided to come up to them and start something, well he did say he was bored so why not cure his boredom by beating up a bunch of weaklings.

"You realize your eating with a monster, right?" one of the male villagers sneered at Naruto who was still too busy devouring his dango's. Gaara meanwhile glared at the three men but decided not to do anything until he sees what Kamui would do.

"I don't listen to weaklings. I suggest you leave before you make a fool of yourself if you haven't done so already." Kamui smiled at the fuming men.

"What was that?!" the one next to him growled.

"Do you need me to repeat myself? I don't really mind actually, so I'll say it again. **Get lost you weaklings.** " He gave them a sadistic smile that had the occupants shaking in fear but the three men were determined to make their intentions known.

"We're trying to save you from this de-" he was cut off from a fist to the face as the man was sent through the wall unconscious with blood coming out of his mouth making everyone in the shop freeze with fear and looked over at Kamui who was smiling a creepy smile.

Kamui sighed, "This is why I can't stand weaklings. Always trying to make themselves look strong when it's the opposite. How annoying."

The two men backed away in fear of the boy when he turned his sights towards them with that sadistic grin on his face, "Now then, since you guys were being annoying you need to be taken care of." He stalked towards them making them back away.

"S-Stay away!"

"Don't com near us!"

Kamui grabbed their faces lifting them in the air as they struggled to get his hands off their faces, "I'll tell you this now so you can remember it later. We the Uzumaki Ichizoku are stronger than the Uchiha. Naruto Uzumaki is my little brother and heir to our clan and you weaklings have bothered him long enough. So as compensation I think you need to be taken care of, don't you agree?"

The two men were even more scared and the occupants in the room couldn't believe what they just heard. Uzumaki clan?! That means if they try anything to the kid they would be punished severely! Like right now! These two men just insulted their clan heir and this boy wasn't going to let them get away with it at all.

Kamui said nothing else and instead bashed their heads together before tossing them aside like garbage, which they are. Both men were unconscious and everyone found themselves afraid of the Uzumaki clan. The red haired boy sat down and finished eating his dango's while Naruto and Gaara ignored the chaos around them having gotten used to Kamui's unique personality.

"Damn, that was pretty impressive."

Kamui turned his head and saw a woman with purple hair that was in a high ponytail and wearing a somewhat revealing outfit. She grinned at him, "Don't see kids like you nowadays. Pretty impressive."

Kamui smiled, "I could say the same to you, miss?"

"Names Anko Mitarashi, remember it." Anko grinned.

"Kamui Uzumaki, nice to meet you Anko-san." He greeted politely.

Anko took a seat next to him, "Drop the "san" kid. That formality stuff's boring."

"I understand. Gramps says it's a pain in the ass but we have to do it anyway." He agreed.

She grinned, "I like you."

"Likewise."

"Let's be friends."

"I'd like that, how do you feel about torture?" he had a sadistic grin on his face.

Anko laughed her ass off and slung her arm over his shoulder, "Oh yeah! You and me are gonna get along just fine, kid!"

"I think so too." He smiled.

Naruto looked over at Gaara, "Why do I get the feeling that them being friends is a bad idea?"

"I feel the same as you do." Gaara admitted.

This is one friendship that will most definitely be the scariest.

* * *

The limp body of a ROOT agent fell to the ground lifeless.

"That's the last one." one of the Uzumaki guards confirmed.

"I just got done with one of them myself." A female member approached.

"So in total that makes 15 we've killed." The head captain of the squad walked up to them followed by two more guards.

"Pathetic. You'd think this old fool would get the message by now, but I guess age doesn't cure stupidity." Another female member sighed.

"Don't worry, Toshihiro-sama will deal with the pest soon enough." The captain stated.

"Good. We shall allow no harm to come to Naruto-sama." The male member stated.

"Indeed. Disperse." The captain ordered and they all did so.

The hawk…will soon be devoured by the raging whirlpool.

* * *

 **Next Time: New Academy Students!**


End file.
